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10 Reasons Why You Will Never Let Placeit Go
Posted:Tue, 25 Sep 2018 10:45:42 +0000
Placeit offers thousands of smart templates which you can customize by simply clicking a few options, while still keeping a professional layout. You won’t have to worry about resolution, dimensions or proportions. We promise your designs will always look sharp since there’s no way you can mess it up.The Brilliance of Web Designing
1. It’s as Easy as Breathing
Anyone can design, even you. Yes, you! Don’t trust us? Give it a try.
2. It’s so Fast You’ll Think You Just Missed It
It’s like watching a movie, the hard part is choosing which one, after that you just have to enjoy. You can play with all of Placeit’s smart templates before deciding which design suits your brand the best.
3. Get Yourself an Original Design
You can customize each template as much as you want to ensure you get an original design. From choosing your brand’s color, to uploading a custom image or selecting a graphic that represents who you are, Placeit lets you create unique content that speaks for you.
4. You Can Do It All on Your Own
If you’re not a designer, there’s no need to hire one, Placeit designs for you, allowing you to create amazing visuals without needing the skills and expertise. And if you’re a designer, you’ll be saving golden time!
5. Responsive Designs
Is your app available for iPhone and iPad? Showcase it on a mockup that highlights its best features on both devices! Placeit has hundreds of mockups of multiple devices so you can promote your apps and responsive websites like the pros.
6. Pixel Perfect
This means that every image you create on Placeit will have the highest resolution for you to comfortably use on its intended medium, be it web or print. This ensures your image will always look smooth!
7. Professional Templates
Every template is tailored by a team of skilful designers, so no matter how much you experiment, your design is bound to be beautiful and professional.
8. Everybody Gets a Perfect Match
There is a huge variety of templates, over 12k and counting, with different styles, and formats. Placeit guarantees you’ll find what you’re looking for.
9. So You’re a Startup… We Have the Whole Kit
Every branding asset you can think off, starting from your core logo itself. All you need to boost your marketing efforts with one single tool.
10. Unlimited Downloads
Can’t decide for a single mockup, flyer, video, logo or social media graphic? Get them all! With Placeit’s Unlimited Plan, you can download the entire library for just $29/mo. What else will you ever need?
Using a Logo Generator for Your Brand
How does it work? Very simple, Placeit’s logo maker is a lifesaver, you can choose a specific niche for your logo or use them all.
All you need to do is type the name of your brand and… voilá! Have a look at a full library of logo opportunities for your brand’s name.
Once you find the one that is perfect for you, then you can further customize it. You can change the graphics, colors, fonts and in some cases, even the layout!
Design Core Branding Assets in Seconds!
Designing compelling marketing materials for your business is something you’ll be able to do in just a matter of seconds thanks to Placeit’s wide array of design templates. Get started with flyer and business card templates to showcase your newly designed logo and then move over to amazing ad banners, promo videos and social media images to make the most of your business through online promos and giveaways!
Create Hundreds of T-Shirt Designs in Seconds!
Placeit’s t-shirt design templates will help you upscale your online t-shirt business like the pros. There are tons of different tshirt templates to choose from so you can find the one that represents your brand the best, then all you need to do is customize it, and like all things Placeit, it takes just a few seconds to create professional designs that look a million bucks.
Every Mockup You’ll Ever Need
Whether you are looking to promote a new app or website with iPhone or MacBook mockups, your clothing brand on t-shirt mockups or a branding project with banner mockups, Placeit has your back with the largest mockup library you can think of. And the best part? These mockups are customizable straight from your browser, which means you don’t need to use Photoshop or other editing tools, just upload your image file and watch it come to life instantly.
And there’s so much more added every day! Visit Placeit to discover all the new templates you can customize and download today!
[– This is a sponsored post on behalf of Placeit –]
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10 Free Font Alternatives to Gotham
Posted:Mon, 24 Sep 2018 10:45:26 +0000
The typeface Gotham is one of the most popular sans-serifs in circulation. Designed at the turn of the millennium by Tobias Frere-Jones for the Hoefler & Co. type foundry, it is based on the basic letterforms that Frere-Jones saw in use on buildings around Manhattan, in signage and architectural lettering.The quintessentially American feeling in the design has resulted in the typeface’s use in countless branding projects—Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, and Saturday Night Live, as well as many other household names have adopted Gotham.
Described by Hoefler & Co. simply as, “What letters look like” it’s the typeface’s modernity, honesty, and assuredness that make it so popular.
As with many typefaces, with great popularity comes great overuse. Designer’s immediately took to Gotham, and it started to become a highly predictable choice. If you want to capture the spirit of Gotham, but would like a little more exclusivity, there are some excellent free alternatives, we’ve collected some of them here. Enjoy!
1. Montserrat
Designer Julieta Ulanovsky named Monserrat after the neighbourhood in Buenos Aires in which she works. It was inspired by local architectural signage just as Gotham was. The marginally wider letterforms of Montserrat give it a relaxed feel that Gotham can’t muster.
2. Nexa
Nexa Light, and Nexa Bold, are both available to download for free. They are a little more expressive than some of the typefaces in this list, notably the lowercase g and the uppercase J and Q. Much of the basic form is inspired by Gotham, and Nexa is great for branding projects.
3. Pier Sans
Mathieu Desjardins’ Pier Sans is a free font with 10 styles. Similarly geometric to Gotham, Pier Sans pushes the 1930s feel a little further. Perhaps a touch more Miami than Manhattan.
4. Raleway
Raleway is a comprehensive geometric sans-serif in 18 fonts. Weights range from thin to black, and each weight has an accompanying italic. Intended for use at display sizes, it is close to Gotham in numerous ways, with the obvious exception of the spine on the S.
5. Vision
Vision is an entire family of 12 fonts free for both commercial, and non-commercial work. A fraction more humanist that Gotham, especially in the lowercase, Vision uses the same basic letterforms with a slightly narrower, less rounded skeleton.
6. Museo Sans
If Gotham is overused, it is only marginally more overused than the next typeface in our list. Museo Sans is wildly popular with web designers because it offers the same aesthetic, for nothing. Museo Sans 500 can be downloaded for free for commercial and non-commercial work.
7. Gothvetica
Gothvetica: Gotham, mixed with Helvetica. The sort of mashup that only seems like a worthwhile endeavour when type designers get together for one too many drinks. But somehow it works. It’s a fun project that’s free for non-commercial work.
8. Gothic A1
Gotham is understandably American, considering its roots in the architectural identity of New York, but the popularity of its simple modernism extends far beyond America shores. Gothic A1 is a free sans-serif with similar a similar feel, but with extensive support for Korean as well as Latin characters.
9. Kiona
Kiona is a minimal geometric uppercase typeface that feels similar to Gotham in many of its characters. But Kiona emphasises the diagonal in its distinct K, and R. Kiona light, bold, and semibold are all premium fonts. Kiona regular is free to download.
10. Coves
Coves is a simple geometric sans-serif that shares much of its DNA with Gotham, the apex on the M, the lack of cross-bar on the J, the shape of the double-height a, all follow the same pattern. It’s free for personal use, but for commercial use you’ll need a license.
Bonus: 5 Premium Font Alternatives to Gotham
The sheer volume of work involved in designing a complete typeface family means that when typefaces are a labor of love, they normally focus on a few key weights or styles. Commonly you’ll get a regular and a bold, but no italic. The exception is when a project is taken on by a community of volunteers, such as the team behind Montserrat, when it is able to grow into a wider set of fonts.
If you need a comprehensive set of characters, or a variety of weights, then a premium font family could be the answer.
Premium fonts aren’t necessarily better than their free alternatives, but the designers have been able to invest the time necessary to draw more glyphs.
Here are five premium alternatives to Gotham, for those that need a little more flexibility.
11. Mallory
If you love Gotham but want to opt for something different, why not pick a typeface by the same designer. Mallory is a little more expressive in heavy weights, but is similarly proportioned.
12. Effra
From $21 per font / Also available on Typekit
Effra is a highly flexible family of fonts that unusually includes support for Arabic script, if you’re designing for an international client Effra is a prudent choice.
13. FF Mark
If you’re a fan of Gotham, but wish it were a little more geometric, then FF Mark is the typeface for you.
14. Loew Next
Loew Next is a redrawing of an earlier attempt at a simple, modern sans-serif by the same designer. It features an extremely diverse character set.
15. Avenir
Pre-dating it by over a decade, Avenir’s roots are the same type of typographic exploration—this time by Adrian Frutiger—that led to Gotham.
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Popular Design News of the Week: September 17, 2018 – September 23, 2018
Posted:Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:45:23 +0000
Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week.
Note that this is only a very small selection of the links that were posted, so don’t miss out and subscribe to our newsletter and follow the site daily for all the news.
Grapedrop – Free, Responsive, Web Page Builder for your Next Project
Sketch 52 Beta with New UI and Darkmode
Simple Analytics – Simple, Clean, and Privacy-friendly Analytics
Funding Choices – Google’s New Tool for GDPR Compliance and Content Monetization
Mailplane 4 – The Best Way to Use Gmail on your Mac
Mind-Blowing Artwork from the Anime Classic Akira
What not to Call your Web Design Company
The Rise and Demise of RSS
How Headspace Rebranded Meditation
Ever Wonder Why the Most Popular Apps are Starting to Look the Same?
Designers Need to Keep Old People in Mind
Parody Site: Hello We are Agency (Tip – Refresh the Page for New Designs)
Xara Cloud – The Simplest Design Tool for Business Documents
Vapid: An Intentionally Simple CMS
Why Good Design Principles Can Create Better Designs
This AI Dreams in Tulips
Turn Off Push Notifications
Decide Better with a Decision Matrix
How to Slack Smarter? – A UX Case Study
Facebook is Letting Job Advertisers Target Only Men
New Logos and Identities for John Lewis Partnership by Pentagram
How Catchy Interface Illustrations Can Enhance UI Design
Super Simple Grids Using CSS Grid
Framer X is Here
Uber Design by Ueno. A Case Study.
Want more? No problem! Keep track of top design news from around the web with Webdesigner News.
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6 Ways to Speed Up Slow Clients
Posted:Fri, 21 Sep 2018 10:45:58 +0000
Frustrated with your client? Beginning to wish you’d never taken this job on in the first place? Do you just need some feedback so that you can move forward?Picture it: You’ve managed to land a great gig with a well-paying client and you can’t wait to get started and produce some of your best web design work…But then days elapse into weeks and the project just isn’t moving forward. The client replies to you sporadically, doesn’t fully answer your questions, and seems mega evasive.
This sometimes happens. Hey, things come up and get clients get busy. The problem is that you have requirements too, and a “busy” client is killing your schedule and your motivation.
So what do you do?
There’s no need to bail out just yet. In this article, we’re going to take a look at how you can speed up the whole process with slow clients.
1. Don’t Ask Too Much From a Client
If you’ve created multiple different designs for your client to review, plus you’ve got a few new color scheme ideas that you need to run by them, understand that this sort of feedback is heavy going and can overwhelm a busy client.
We know that it’s the client’s project that you’re working. And while you’d think they should be always available to check up on their project, clients often have several things on the go at once.
From now on, you need to take some responsibility. Is it necessary to have a client check every little thing that you do? Or can you get away with slimming down the amount of feedback that you need? If you can, do that.
A good client doesn’t want to—and shouldn’t have to—micromanage you. If you’ve got a massive list of things you want feedback on, find a way of narrowing it down. If you really do have eight templates to show them, cut them back to five.
Take some responsibility and don’t put too much on a client’s plate.
2. Clarify Issues as Soon as Possible
When clients give you a brief, they’ll typically ask if you have any questions. Instead of thinking “No, I’ll be okay for now,” or “I can ask a question at a later date,” use their invitation to ask questions right there and then.
A client might be available to answer at the time, but they might not be as available later on.
Moreover, asking for clarity as soon as possible means that you can just crack on with the job.
If there is something that you aren’t clear about, ask as soon as you can. That way, you can both move forward.
3. Set Expectations
From the start, you could explain to the client that you value, and expect good communication and feedback, and that these things help you to stay motivated and on track.
Of course, you’re also aware that you can’t talk to the client all the time, so why not schedule a brief weekly “catch-up/feedback session” to discuss the project and where you are at?
At the beginning of your project, it’s also important that you lay out what you can do and what you cannot do. Perhaps your client owns an eCommerce store for example and wants marketing services but you only design websites. Let them know this at the beginning to avoid disappointment.
4. Get Them Excited About the Project
It stands to reason that the more excited a client is about a project, the more they’ll want to talk about it, and the faster they’ll respond to your questions.
The easiest way to get a client excited about a project is to deliver your best work. If you deliver a draft that you know is second-rate, their own enthusiasm, motivation and passion for the project might take a dip.
Worse still, it weakens your relationship with them.
Instead of delivering a draft just for the sake of delivering a draft, hand in only your best work. Refine and tweak until you know that what you’ve got is so good that a client will be excited enough to respond and tell you what to do next.
The best thing is, that if a client sees the awesome work you’ve delivered so far, they’ll be so excited to see the end result that they’ll encourage you to stay on track.
5. Show your Own Passion For This Project
If a client can see that a freelancer or agency is super passionate about their project, it fires their own passion.
Rather than a client inspiring you, you can inspire the client!
How so?
A great idea is to get them excited about the tools you’ll be using for this project. Perhaps you could shoot them a message that goes a little like this:
“Hey! So, I’ve been mapping out this project, and wanted to show you some of the awesome tools I’m going to be using. For example, check out this neat POS that’s going to help your clients pay both online and offline.” Or you could show them examples of chatbots that you are going to implement on their website. You could also offer them the option to install a page builder.
Clients want to see you take an interest in their project. By showing your passion, you might be able to speed them up. Pretty soon they’ll be thinking, “Hey, this person really cares about my project. Perhaps I should start prioritizing it some more.”
6. The Follow up Email
If your client becomes unresponsive you must send an effective follow up email.
First, though, don’t become panicked by your clients lack of response. Don’t make assumptions about their thought process. You don’t want your email to come across as naggy.
The point of sending a follow up email is to move the process forward so that you can take further action on the project. Explain this to your client. Let them know that their lack of response may push back the project deadline, which can affect a variety of other projects either directly or indirectly.
It’s also best to have a single point of contact. If you require feedback from 4 different members of staff at a company, its going to be extremely difficult to get approval from each of them.
Conclusion
These are some ways to speed up the web design process with slow clients. All in all, though, there will be times when you’ll just need to have some patience. Clients don’t mind being nudged from time to time, but busy people don’t like to be nagged. Put our tips in place and have some patience with your clients.
Featured image via DepositPhotos.
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4 Web Design Principles Hollywood Reboots Can Teach Us
Posted:Thu, 20 Sep 2018 10:45:45 +0000
At least once every day, some designer somewhere in the world will look at something made months or years ago; failing that, some executive will get the bright idea that they can make their mark on a company and the world by changing something that already exists, instead of making something new. One or both of these people might get this sort of itch in the back of their head, accompanied by a sense of dissatisfaction and ill-defined purpose.The itch will get itchier, the dissatisfaction will grow, and the purpose will begin to form until, one day, they blurt out the words: I think we should redesign our website (and/or make a King Kong movie that focuses on the human characters).
Redesigning a site is not unlike rebooting a movie or TV show. They’re both massively complex creative endeavors that attempt to draw in an existing audience while also appealing to a new one. They’re also both fraught with dangers, as while a good redesign or reboot can bring life back to something that has aged poorly, they can also just flop hard.
As designers, we have an opportunity to learn from the successes and failures of Hollywood. It’s not a one-to-one comparison, but there are enough similarities to make a few observations:
1. You Need to Know if Anyone Wants This
Some people might not know that the original version of The Mummy was actually made in 1932, and starred the legendary Boris Karloff. Brendan Fraser brought his signature charm to the story again in 1999, over sixty years later. A lot can happen in sixty years, including a World War, a couple more wars, the invention of the computer as we know it, and the invention of redesigning websites as a concept.
So when the 1999 movie showed up, it premiered in what was practically a new world. The stars were likable, the Indiana Jones influence set it apart from its predecessor, but it kept the same sense of adventure, with a few actually kind-of-scary moments. The world was ready for it.
And then in 2017, someone decided to reboot The Mummy again with an eye toward creating a whole new franchise of monster movies. But it was a lackluster movie at best, despite the talent that went into it, and people could remember the heart that went into the Brendan Frasier version all too easily, and the comparison hurt the new movie. The world was not ready for it. Going too fast hurt The Mummy Franchise, and don’t even get me started on all of the Spiderman reboots. That was ridiculous.
If you’re going to redesign your site, don’t do it too soon. And when you do get around to it, make sure it’s actually bringing something people want to the table. Speaking of which…
2. You Need to Know What Made the Original Special
Let’s take a look at Total Recall, for example. The original was a fun sci-fi romp that combined light social commentary, silliness, and Arnold being Arnold. Replace Arnold with a star of lesser charisma, and the silly movie falls apart. Take away the silliness, and it’s a generic sci-fi action film. It still would have been good for its time, probably, but probably not as beloved as it is now.
The 2012 remake couldn’t get Arnold back, and as good as Colin Farrell and the rest of the cast were, they couldn’t carry the movie alone. That delightful silliness was also gone, replaced by light touches of sarcasm. The mild social commentary was still there, but it was so shallow as to be easily dismissed.
They took a formula that worked, and removed at least two-thirds of it. Before you ever touch a website with the intent of redesigning it, you want to know why people like it at all. This means user research, and actually talking to users. God knows that if they’d polled the fans of the original movie, they might have kept some of its charm intact.
3. Your Audience May Change
People don’t usually want the same things for their entire lives. Times, people, and sensibilities change. Take the new Lost in Space series on Netflix. The original started in 1965, only one year before the original Star Trek launched. It featured TV tropes and family dynamics that were considered acceptable in its day; and so it unsurprisingly lasted longer than the forward-looking Star Trek.
The new series can’t rely on those older family dynamics. Audiences expect a bit more drama in their sci-fi, a more realistic and nuanced approach to characters, and boy oh boy did Robot ever get a makeover. Dr. Smith, too. Audiences (particularly Netflix customers) have also come to expect a more diverse cast of characters, and so that’s what they’re getting.
All in all, it’s a fairly successful reboot that combines the core concept of the show with the changed expectations of its audience. Do I have to make an analogy to website redesign, here? Well I will: how has your userbase changed since your site was launched? Do you know? If you don’t, you should find out right now.
4. The Medium May Change Too
With a solid-enough concept and an enduring audience, you could more or less keep telling the same story; but even then, the medium will change. Here we come to the many iterations of James Bond. They don’t technically count as “reboots”, but hey… they illustrate my point. Who doesn’t want to be smooth, sophisticated, and dangerous when they need to be? Bond’s time may come one day, but for now, the saga continues.
Even so, the way James Bond films get made, from a technical standpoint, has changed often. It had to. With advancements in technology, refinements in cinematic storytelling, and cultural shifts, the Bond movies of today look very different from the first bond films, while being much the same in terms of substance.
A redesign of your site doesn’t have to mean changing its core philosophy, but it might be worth it to refine your design by rebuilding it with newer design and coding principles in mind. If you have a solid core design to work from, then iteration—rather than a full redesign—might be the better option.
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20 Freshest Web Designs, September 2018
Posted:Wed, 19 Sep 2018 10:45:11 +0000
Welcome to our roundup of the best websites launched (or relaunched with major updates) in the last four weeks. September marks the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere, and reflecting that change, we’re seeing fewer light, airy, minimal designs, and more rich, warm, comforting designs.There’s been a flood of new design agency sites, and a ton of new season fashion sites launched this month—we’ve included the best. You’ll also find some great photography and lots for lovers of typography. Enjoy!
Critical Mass
Critical Mass is one of those design agencies you’d just love to work for. Their new site is a homage to themselves, telling a success story from their roots in Calgary, to 11 different offices around the world, with some exceptional work along the way.
Genesis
Genesis is a London eatery specializing in organic, healthy food. Their site is ever so slightly bizarre. Entirely black and white, with mystic-inspired illustrations, the site definitely makes me want to eat there, at least once.
Libratone
With bold color blocking, an unconventional grid, and one of the more interesting slideshows you’ll see, Libratone’s site is walking the walk by exuding confidence, sophistication, and a sense of freedom. A great site the perfectly encapsulates its brand identity.
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs is one of the world’s most productive fashion labels, selling a dizzying array of products through this site. Despite the vast range of goods, there’s still time for careful details if you look, check out the animated bag for example.
Tao Tajima
Filmmaker Tao Tajima’s site features fullscreen clips of his work. What makes this site stand out is the liquid-style transition that segues between projects as you scroll. The way the video flexes is a magical effect perfectly in keeping with Tajima’s work.
GT Zirkon
Following the fashion for typefaces to get their own websites, GT Zirkon is a fantastic deep-dive into the design features of this sans-serif typeface. Entirely black and white, the animated noodle details continue to grow, creating a unique sense of time.
Porter & Pals
Feeding our dogs a healthy diet is super important to all owners. Porter & Pals wants you to trust them with your pooch’s diet, they’re different, and they want you to know it. Not convinced? Just keep refreshing the homepage for some hilarious pictures.
Alberta Ferretti
At first glance, Alberta Ferretti’s site looks much the same as any other minimal, grid-based fashion site. Where this site stands out is the playful use of the grid to create unexpected shapes and counter-intuitive alignment.
DAD
Dad is a design agency based in the Netherlands. Scroll through its colorful site and the work scrolls vertically, while the background type scrolls horizontally. Somehow, it works. If they don’t win a D&AD award there really is no poetry in the world.
Hourly App
Hourly is yet another time-tracking app for iOS, so far, so dull. But what sets Hourly apart is the 80s style typography and color palette. The bold choice is reflected in the app’s site, and delivers an impactful, and ultimately individual design.
Studio.Build
Studio.Build is a creative digital and branding agency that believes in big statements made simply. The site features a slideshow of selected work to scroll through, but click-through to the full portfolio for some exceptional design work.
Siri
Apple’s brand new site for its flagship AI product is predictably Apple-like, with a whole ton of mysterious black, gigantic sized type, and some lovely subtle gradients. Rarely does color-coding sections feel so exclusive.
Fred Perry
Fred Perry’s site is a perfect demonstration of how to do parallax right. Used to highlight the size of the product range, and the free shipping options, rather than simply to add interest, it’s an engaging effect on this site.
Sudtipos
Some type foundries focus on black and white to pull us in. Sudtipos have gone in completely the other direction, draping their site in colors inspired by their native Argentina. It’s a fitting approach for a colorful design collective.
The Wing
The Wing is a co-working space with a difference: it’s women-only. With its roots in community activism in the 19th and 20th centuries, The Wing has four spaces in NY and DC, and has plans for six more. It’s a site targeting women, with none of the clichés.
Swallowtail Tea
Swallowtail Tea’s art direction features heavy use of Photoshop’s noise filter, giving the site a nostalgic feel—plus the added benefit of much smaller image files, delivering a faster, more pleasant browsing experience.
Foster Type
Fittingly for a site showcasing type and lettering design, the online portfolio of Dave Foster features some exceptionally well-set type. For lovers of detailed design, it’s a pleasure to browse through and admire.
The Disconnect
The Disconnect is a unique approach to publishing on the web, they want you to disconnect in order to view the content. Just browse over and then turn off your wi-fi. Only on its second issue, it’s great, distraction-free journalism.
The Floral Society
Who doesn’t love flowers? The Floral Society sells high-quality products for amateur florists. From a Christmas wreath workshop, to DIY wedding flowers. It’s a delightful site put together on Squarespace, proving that anyone really can design a website.
The D. E. Shaw Group
A superlative example of an animation that transforms as you scroll, the D. E. Shaw Group’s site is a modern, abstract depiction of investment banking. As a way to illustrate a non-tangible product, it’s difficult to beat.
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Loving & Hating the Hamburger Icon
Posted:Mon, 17 Sep 2018 10:45:12 +0000
I love the hamburger menu. I hate the hamburger menu.I am constantly contradicting myself about this tiny website element; whether I think it works beautifully…or just makes a mess.
And I’m not alone. While this icon has exploded in popularity, there’s still significant debate as to whether it is the right choice for tucking navigation menus into websites. It’s a debate I have with myself (and team) every time we approach a new project as well.
Because while I love the simplicity of the hamburger menu and the clean canvas it provides, there are some lurking usability issues that just keep nagging me. That’s why I have a distinct love-hate relationship with the hamburger menu.
Love: Clean Design Canvas
The extra space provided by using a hamburger menu icon can create a cleaner, sleeker, more modern feel to the design. I love the look of a minimal design without clutter and layers of elements piled on top of each other.
This design element can encourage your team to actually think about and make certain content and usability decisions as well. Because the hamburger icon doesn’t contain the space to expand to those all-encompassing mega menus that were popular for a while, you have to determine what’s important enough to be a part of the main navigation. And this is an important discussion to have.
Having a limited amount of space for navigation can help the team focus on website goals and what users are doing and what you want them to do. (Gotta love that!)
Hate: Challenging for Some Users
That tiny little icon with three stacked lines still isn’t wholly familiar to some users. If you manage or are building a website with a distinctly older audience or one that’s not so mobile savvy, a hamburger icon can be confusing.
This segment might not ever click or tap the icon, leading to abandonment of the website.
While this tool tends to work well with more “techie” audiences, it’s not for every user group. If the primary users of your website are on desktop devices, it’s worth reconsidering.
Love: Acceptance as a Mobile User Pattern
It’s fun to watch something happen before your eyes. When the first few websites started using hamburger icons, many of us thought it would never catch on.
The opposite has been true.
On mobile devices, use of the hamburger icon to signal hidden navigation is generally accepted. Most mobile users understand what it is and how it works.
This user pattern also solved a problem with mobile navigation – those tiny little words were difficult to tap. With pop- or slide-out navigation from the hamburger icon, designers are leaving more space around each element and even designing individual navigation links to have the look of buttons, making the style highly usable.
Hate: There’s a Tendency to “Overstuff” Them
Because navigation from a hamburger icon looks and feels like its own page, there’s this tendency to overstuff it with information.
This drives me crazy! I don’t want to scroll in your navigation page. Pick a few important navigation elements, show them to users and move on. Don’t overstuff the navigation because you don’t want to make content and goal decisions.
Every website should have a few pages that are a priority for users to find and visit. Those should be in navigation that opens from the hamburger menu.
Love: Easy and Direct Access to Key Links
Elements in hamburger navigation provide direct access to content.
According to the Nielsen Norman Group, direct access allows users to click or tap right to a “preferred item, instead of forcing users to go through your content in serial order.” The alternative is sequential access, where users have to see multiple elements before getting to the one they want (think carousels for navigation or multi-level mega menus).
Direct access is important because it makes it quick and easy for users to get where they want in the website architecture. Fewer clicks to access information is a good thing.
I know what you are thinking: I already recommended that menus be streamlined to the most important information, so how is this quicker and easier for all users?
Simple: Include search in your navigation if you can’t highlight everything you need to. If users don’t see exactly what they are looking for, there’s a way to find it.
Hate: Lack of Immediate Information
One of the things I hate about hamburger menus is that they can hide some of the context of a website. A good navigation menu provides cues about the content of a website right away with keywords and information at the top of the screen.
It’s not always the case – especially if the design is well planned – but often these cues are missing when navigation is tucked inside a hamburger.
It’s important that the design doesn’t lose this context with that information written into the visible copy on pages.
Love: Extra Real Estate on the Hamburger Screen
The pop- or slide-out nature of the hamburger icon navigation screen gives designers an extra space and bit of real estate to be creative.
Take advantage of that space to do something that will delight users. I absolutely love clicking that icon and getting something special that contributes to my overall user experience.
Use that space to provide extra information, re-emphasize an important fact or create a delightful interaction.
Hate: It Takes Multiple Clicks to Discover New Things
Is your attention span as short as mine? If I have to click all over the place to find things on a website, I tend to just check out.
Sometimes a hamburger icon can lead to “multiple click/tap fatigue.” Navigation elements are hidden. You have to click to find them. What you are looking for isn’t there. You have to click somewhere else to search. You have to click into and out of the navigation.
All of this clicking can get tedious – even if it does happen in a matter of seconds. (And the average attention span isn’t getting any longer.)
Wrapping Up
So what’s the verdict? Do I love or hate the hamburger menu icon?
It’s both. I’ll continue to love and hate it until a better solution comes along. How do you feel about it?
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Popular Design News of the Week: September 10, 2018 – September 16, 2018
Posted:Sun, 16 Sep 2018 10:45:02 +0000
Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week.
Note that this is only a very small selection of the links that were posted, so don’t miss out and subscribe to our newsletter and follow the site daily for all the news.
Chrome’s New Design – A UX Perspective
This is What the Apple iPhone 11 Could Look like
Trendy Palettes – Free and Open Collection of Color Palettes, Updated Daily
Taking Ownership as a New Grad Designer at Google
Helping Users “Get It”
If Screen Product Designers Designed Physical Products
Disruptive Interfaces & the Emerging Battle to Be the Default
How and Why I Redesign my Portfolio Every Year
Ugliness is Underrated in Design
Site Design: Rally Interactive
Design Considerations for Multiple Email Clients and Devices
15 Best Google Fonts by the Numbers for 2018
New York Times X Google Maps: UX Case Study
Pencil – An Intelligent Writing Environment
10 Simple Design Principles to Create Stunning Graphics
Getting Permission for User-Generated Content
Uber Rebrand 2018
Meet Elizabeth Maxwell, Partner and Design Director of Beagle
Site Design: iPhone X Website
The Popularity of Web Apps Spikes Every September
Keep my Friends – A Lightweight, Personal CRM to Improve your Relationships
9 Tips for Designing Faster and More Efficiently so You Don’t Go Insane
Google is Discontinuing Inbox
How to Disable Gutenberg and Keep the Classic Editor in WordPress
Color Leap – History’s Palettes
Want more? No problem! Keep track of top design news from around the web with Webdesigner News.
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Infographic: The Future of E-Commerce
Posted:Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:45:13 +0000
Worldwide, retail e-commerce sales totaled $2.29 trillion last year. By the end of this year they’ll have reached $2.8 trillion. If the trend continues apace, e-commerce sales will reach a whopping $4.479 trillion by 2021.The message is clear: Consumers love the convenience of e-commerce; the reduced prices compared to real world stores, with their real world overheads; the greater range of products.
With a simple click, or tap, you can buy or subscribe to almost any product or service. Never has impulse buying been so easy.
It’s clear that e-commerce will continue to grow as a sector. But what exactly will it look like in the coming months and years?
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Uber Unveils Simple New Rebrand
Posted:Thu, 13 Sep 2018 15:45:56 +0000
A little less than three years ago, Uber rebranded as the cab-service of choice for dystopian sci-fi pac-man fans. It was a move reportedly intended to recast the startup as the choice of every day people; it actually stripped the brand of all personal connections.This week, a little less than three years longer than it should have waited, Uber have unveiled a far more coherent, far more appealing identity.
Designed by the “Uber Brand Experience” team alongside Wolff Olins, the rebrand does an excellent job of correcting the obvious deficiencies in the previous identity.
As a corporation—they’re really no longer a startup—Uber is globally recognized; from name-drops in Netflix series, to street signs in Rome (mis)informing potential customers of heavy fines for using the service, you’ll struggle to find anyone who doesn’t have some idea of what Uber is, and what Uber does. This despite the fact that until now they had an underwhelming visual identity.
The biggest issue for Uber’s expansion has been an identity that worked globally. The old approach was to be adaptable to local cultures, the new approach is to be so simple that it works anywhere.
Uber’s global arrow icon
Central to the rebrand is a new logotype. And yes, as you feared, it’s based on a geometric sans-serif. (For anyone not au fait with type classifications, it’s the same style recently adopted by Google, Opera, Airbnb, Mastercard, et al.)
At first glance the Uber logotype is a little unbalanced, the weight on the left making it appear to rotate counter-clockwise. On closer inspection, it’s not the spacing, but the density caused by the proximity of the stems on the ‘U’ and the ‘b’ and specifically the lowercase style terminal on the uppercase ‘U’. What’s that doing there? Is it…does the whitespace…is it…a…road? If so, they must be gutted they didn’t name the company “Uiber”.
Having spent some time with the logotype, it’s growing on me. It doesn’t feel as effortless as I’d like, but it feels utilitarian which is a positive step away from Uber’s early exclusivity.
Designed alongside the logotype the company has commissioned a new typeface from LA-based studio MCKL. Named ‘Uber Move’ it does an excellent job of tying the brand materials together.
Uber’s custom typeface, Uber Move
Uber is adopting the color black—already heavily utilized in its previous branding—which alongside white replaces most color in the company’s communications. ‘Safety Blue’ has been introduced to call out important elements, ironically calling to mind Mirror’s Edge (in which you traverse a metropolis on foot). There is also scope for a few muted colors, but their inclusion feels less practical, than boardroom placating.
Uber’s ‘Safety Blue’ palette
On top of the other elements, Uber is introducing a new u-shaped frame. Adaptable, subtle, yet distinct, the frame can be repurposed in a number of ways, either in white, or as a mask for photo elements.
Uber’s new u-frame
As Uber moves away from cars alone, and towards bikes, tuk-tuks, and aircraft, it needs a simple, positive, robust identity. This rebrand is a brave, and probably successful, attempt to deliver that.
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