Posts Tagged ‘web design’

11 Open Source (FREE) Photoshop Alternatives

// June 21st, 2009 // 4 Comments » // Apple, Applications, Design, Design Resources, Featured, For Geeks, Freeware, Geeks, Graphic Design, Graphics, I recommend, Photoshop, Software, Useful, Windows, art, free, web tools, webdesign, webmaster


I’ve been doing some research online tonight for a FREE alternative for Photoshop – my Photoshop installation recently became corrupt (no clue how but it might have something to do with the fact it was cracked..um yeh) Call me evil, I just call me poor.

Anyway, I can’t seem to completly uninstall Photoshop and so it won’t allow me to re-install it… and since Photoshop cost about USD $649 per copy... I’ll most likely be using an alternative until I can format my hard drive.

Anyway, I can not work with out some type of imaging software. Period. I’ll let you know which one I decide on.

11 Open Source (FREE) Photoshop Alternatives

Artweaver

Artweaver isn’t just a Photoshop alternative like GIMP, but a fair clone of Photoshop itself. While Artweaver lacks the polish and advanced feature sets of Photoshop, the menus are laid out like they are in Photoshop and the tools function close enough that use is intuitive. The programs are so similar, in fact, that seasoned Photoshop users will find themselves wondering why a feature is suddenly missing from the menu. While it isn’t a true replacement for Photoshop, Artweaver’s feature set is robust; it includes layer management, image cloning, a history function, transparency, pen tablet support, and a host of the common filters in Photoshop. Artweaver is available as a full install or in a portable version. Artweaver is a free download for Windows only.

Fotographix Beta 3

Fotografix is an amazing example of what creative developers can accomplish in less than one meg. The 680Kb portable application is a very capable image editor and provides nearly all the same functionality I utilize in Photoshop on a daily basis. It was a no-brainer to include in my list of 40 apps you can download in two seconds. Mirrored on Freeware Files.

GIMP

gimp.org

GIMP stands for “GNU image manipulation program”, and it is one of the oldest and most well known alternatives to Photoshop in existence. Although it doesn’t quite have all of them, you’ll find most of the features included in Photoshop somewhere in GIMP. GIMP is cross platform and supported by a large community.

If just having the feature set isn’t enough for you, there is an alternative based on GIMP known as GIMPShop. It’s the same as GIMP, except the layout has been structured as close to Photoshop as possible, so anyone making the transition should still feel right at home.

Inkscape

Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor similar to Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Freehand, or Xara X. What sets Inkscape apart is its use of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), an open XML-based W3C standard, as the native format.

Krita

Krita has been lauded for ease of use and won the Akademy Award for Best Application in 2006. Part of the Koffice suite for [Linux only] , Krita is slightly less powerful than both Photoshop and GIMP, but does contain some unique features. It has become very popular recently due to its ease of use. While it is not as feature-rich as the Photoshop, or even GIMP, it does contains the necessary tools to create/edit a professional image from scratch. In fact, the latest version contains some features that are not found in both GIMP and Photoshop.

ChocoFlop

ChocoFlop is a design application designed exclusively for [Mac only] , optimized for Mac architecture. It’s quick and fairly well featured. This program won’t always be free, but until a stable version is released (it’s currently in beta) they are allowing free use. The program works pretty well as is, and if you’re the type who doesn’t mind an occasional bug it’s certainly worth a look.

Picnik

Picnik is a web based photo editor that has recently taken off due to a partnership with Flickr. It has all the basic features plus a few advanced ones like layers and special effects. It is cross platform since you only need a browser.

Adobe Photoshop Express

Adobe actually has a free web based photo editor of their own. Adobe Photoshop Express has all the basic functionality you’d expect as well as a few advanced features (sadly though, no layers), and interfaces well with a number of photo sharing websites. Again, completely cross platform.

Paint.NET

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.

CinePaint 0.23

CinePaint is a deep paint image retouching tool that supports higher color fidelity than ordinary painting tools. One of the advantage that it has over GIMP is that it is able to support 32-bits image (GIMP only supports 8-bits image). Cinepaint is mainly used by developers in the flim industry for motion picture frame-by-frame retouching. The current version runs on Linux, BSD, Mac OSX. Stable version for Windows is not available at the moment.

PhotoPlus


PhotoPlus [Windows only] is the amazing photo editing software that enables you to fix and enhance digital photos, create stunning bitmap graphics and even web animations.

Links

There’s also free web services that allows you to perform basic image editing online.
Here’s few examples:




Hatched! Twitter Eggs – Free Twitter icon set

// June 20th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // Blogging, Cool Links, Design, Design Resources, For Geeks, Graphic Design, Graphics, Icons, Social Network, Social Network Icons, Twitter, Useful, icon sets, webdesign, webmaster


twitter_egg2 twitter_egg5 twitter_egg1 twitter_egg3

These are so damn cute! Which came first the Twitter bird or the egg? Enhance your blog or site with these fun Twitter eggs. Available in PNG format in two sizes: 256 x 256 px and 128 x 128 px.




Another Great Affiliate that actually pays! $$ WPWebHost

// June 19th, 2009 // No Comments » // Affiliate Networking, Blogging, Cool Websites, Design Resources, Featured, For Geeks, Geeks, Hosting, I recommend, Wordpress, Wordpress Themes, webmaster


Another Great Affiliate that actually pays! WPWebHost.com I just signed up with them as an affiliate and added a banner to the bottom of my posts using the Shantz WordPress Prefix/Suffix Plugin which I also love by the way.

I earned 70.00 bucks with only 2 referrals and in no time at all.  If your like me when you first found out about affiliate marketing you thought “great I can just add links to my website and I’ll make money”. Well it’s really not that easy.

I’m very picky about the affiliates I add to my website. If I don’t believe in their product I’m not gonna bug my visitors with their ads. If it’s something I think my visitors would be interested in then I’ll sign up and add the banner.  Knowing full well that I’ll probably never see a dime… but I tend to have the “hey what the heck can’t hurt” kind of attitude when it comes to most affiliates.

However there have been only a few affiliates that I have made money off of and those few are The WP Remix Theme, Woo Themes and now WPWebHost! The cool thing about WPWebHost is you can create and track your own affiliate links! Which is not something most of the Wordpress theme affiliates allow you to do.

WPWebHost also offers tier linking which basically means you can make money from other affiliates who sign up under you.. and no that is not why I’m promoting them. I’m promoting them because I made money and money is is always fun to share! SIGN UP TODAY!
wpwebhost

Plus their client list is pretty impressive.. well if your familiar with some of the designers who blog that is..

WPWebHost Clients:

Design Shard is now Hosted with WPWebHost and its been a really great experience so far, support is fast at responding to questions about their hosting and about Wordpress, the features of there servers are better than what I was on at Godaddy! I would recommend them with confidence if your thinking of changing hosts.”
- Max Stanworth, Design Shard

Check out what they have to offer for only 5 bucks a month!!




10 New Social Networking Icon Sets

// June 15th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Blogging, Design, Design Resources, Facebook, Graphic Design, Graphics, Icons, Rss Feed Icons, Social Network, Social Network Icons, Twitter, Useful, icon sets, webdesign, webmaster


I’m constantly looking for new social networking icon sets to post but they are few and far between. Good ones at least.

Here are 10 social networking icon sets.  A few of them are new to me and a few are not.But all of them are cool.

Make sure to do a search for social networking icons on my website. I’ve posted a ton of them. Also if you know of any new sets that have not been posted here.. pleeze let me know!

Leave a comment, subscribe to my RSS Feed! Follow me on Twitter!

Curly Vector Social Icons




My Freelance Suitcase – Useful tools for Freelancers

// June 15th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Admin Tools, Blogging, Cool Links, Design, Design Resources, For Geeks, Geeks, I recommend, Ipod, free, web tools, webdesign, webmaster


I’ve recently started taking on some freelance jobs and really just learning more about what is involved in being a freelance designer. It’s been interesting to say the least. I’ve found some really useful tools online that I wanted to share with my readers. I know a lot of designers visit this site looking for themes and social networking icons so hopefully these tools will be useful to some of you.

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Web design build questions to ask (yourself) or new clients

// June 11th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Blogging, Code, Design, Design Resources, For Geeks, Geeks, Tutorial, Useful, webdesign, webmaster


Working Girl

If your a webmaster or web designer I highly recommend you read the rest of this post at www.simonday.com

This is a great resource for anyone who does freelance design or builds websites.

Web design build questions to ask (yourself) or new clients

What do you want the web site to do for your company?
(is it to just promote brand awareness and for people who hear about them and then go to their site, will people be finding them through search engines, is it existing clients looking for support or news, are you selling online, are you offering downloads, company reports etc)

Who is your target audience (age / level of internet experience etc)?
(Do they require a modern, fast paced, highly graphical site to target the younger generation or a more user friendly site for the less experienced or older internet users. )

What image do you want to portray (Professional / Casual / cutting edge etc)?
(Some sites use white space and limited text to give a relaxed feel while others use lots of images and text to give the site a busy feel. Define the feel of the site)

If you have branding what colours, fonts, styles do you use?
(See business cards, letterheads etc). More often that not the sole trader will have no graphics, no logo and no identity so in these cases you need to ask the client for colour schemes they think fit with the ideas but also do market research on the competition because the client may not be right.

CORE QUESTIONS:

What do you absolutely definitely want on the site?
(This list could include blog, shopping cart, members log in, private areas, RSS feeds. Gallery newsletter, contact forms, advertising space, different languages, search facility, etc)

What would you like if possible/within budget?

What absolutely must be on the homepage and what is the order of priority?
(This is a core question and you should allow the client time to ponder and discuss this with you. Their answers here should define the position of the building blocks. The answers could be phone number, email, help icon, downloads, cart total, core product links etc.)

What must be visible at all times?
(Every page has a fold. A fold is below the visual part of the page and requires you to scroll down to see it. I have a height I use but you should decide for yourself where it should be. The client must understand this and agree what can go above and below).

How many links will be needed and how many levels of navigation will there be?
(You need to understand the journey paths and decide how far down the link structure will go (level one, level two, level three etc)




PagePeel – A Free Social Media Iconset

// June 8th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Blogging, Design, Design Resources, Facebook, Graphic Design, Graphics, Icons, Rss Feed Icons, Social Network, Social Network Icons, Twitter, Useful, free, icon sets


PagePeel - A Free Social Media Iconset

How cute is this icon set? I absolutely love this one but then again.. if your familiar with my website then you know I love icons. Especially FREE icon sets!

Big Props and Big Thanks to Productivedreams.com for sharing this super cool icon set with the public. Make sure to visit the site and download this Free icon set and while you’re there take a look at the rest of the site for more cool freebies and much more.

This is the same graphic designer who designed two of my favorite Twitter Birds!

Free Vector Icon Set by Productivedreams.com

Free vector icon set

Free Twitter Bird Icon Set by Productivedreams.com

Free Twitter Bird Icon Set




50+ Links for Twitter Backgrounds & Twitter Resources

// May 31st, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Blogging, Cool Links, Design, Design Resources, Graphic Design, Graphics, Social Network, Twitter, Wallpapers, web tools, webdesign


 A unique Twitter background will help you stand out from the crowd, impress your visitors, and enhance your brand. There are a variety of places that offer free Twitter backgrounds. 

Here are 20+ links for Twitter Backgrounds. 

 

Free Twitter Backgrounds PSD Layered Files – 4 different free twitter backgrounds- PSD zipped files. which can be easily customized with no restrictions. These 4 backgrounds are designed using free textures from textureking and the Twitter Birds are from Productive dreams and SmashMag The rest credits are present on the zipped file.

Zidalgo Twitter Theme Pack 001 by Deluxive


Twitter CSS by AimanStudio – It’s so easy to use Twitter CSS, make sure that you read the info guide that into the .zip file before using this CSS.

Fantastic Twitter Backgrounds by Design-Maker



Follow me on Twitter by ~ kano89
– This wallpaper pack included wallpapers in WIDESCREEN and FULLSCREEN resolutions


twitterbackgroundimages.com


100+ Incredible Twitter Backgrounds


TwitterPatterns.com


tweetstyle.com


LimeShot.com


prettytweet.com

MyTweetSpace


Handpicked Twitter Backgrounds from DeviantArt


Visit Rosaura Ochoa’s photostream on Flickr for more unique and beautiful Twitter backgrounds.


Visit themoonwell’s photostream on Flickr for more colors of this design and more Twitter backgrounds.


freetwitterskins.com


twitterimage.com


sweettweet.net


TwitterBackgrounds
 

Stamps

Twitter Resource Lists

Twitter Widgets

  • BeTwittered - a Google widget for Twitter. Post updates without leaving your Google home page. A full Twitter client with tabbed message views, configurable refresh rate, avatars, fonts, etc.
  • Twitter Gadget - another Google widget to update your Twitter status and view your Twitter friends from your Google homepage.
  • Twidget - a free Dashboard Widget for Mac OS X that allows you to update your Twitter status.
  • Twitterflex - another free Dashboard Widget for Mac OS X which allows you to follow friends and update your own status.

Wallpaper and Icons  for Twitter

Twitter Utilities

  • Twitter Search searches Twitter conversations for keywords, hashtags, or @ replies to any user.
  • Twitterfeed posts your blog RSS feed to twitter.
  • Twitturly - a service for tracking what URLs people are talking about on Twitter.
  • twInfluence - a service measuring the combined influence of twitterers and their followers.
  • Twitter BlackList a list of known Twitter spammers.
  • TwitPic for sharing your photos o Twitter.
  • FriendOrFollow Who are you following that’s not following you back? Who’s following you that you’re not following back? Find out!
  • Qwitter a notification service when someone stops following you.
  • TwitStat - Real time Twitter Analytics
  • Twitter Grader - vanity booster or crasher (depending on the grade your profile gets :)
  • Twellow - the directory of Twitter users
  • Tweetstats graphs your Twitter usage (tweets per hour, day of the week, month, whom you tweet with, your preferred Twitter client, etc.)

Just for Fun

  • cursebird.com/ - Find out what foul mouthed followers are getting up to. Not for the easily offended.
  • popacular.com/gigatweet/ - Counting the number of Tweets. Pointless but fun to watch the counter count.
  • divvoted.com/ Vote for great websites via Twitter.
  • foamee.com/ - Owe someone a beer? Give it to them via Twitter.
  • wasoverheard.com/ - Provides an anonymous way to tweet things which you have recently overheard.
  • twistori.com/ - FunTwitter based tool from Amy Hoy. Find tweets based on Love Hate Think Believe Feel Wish feelings on Twitter.

Ego – Tools




30 Tutorials On Converting A PSD To XHTML And CSS

// May 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Artists Shoutouts, Blogging, Cool Links, Cool Websites, Design, Design Resources, For Geeks, Geeks, Graphic Design, I recommend, The Best of.., Tutorial, Website Templates, web tools, webdesign, webmaster


30 of the best tutorials on web for converting A PSD to a XHTML & CSS layout. These tutorials you will learn the process on how to create a Photoshop web layout and be able to convert it into a valid XHTML & CSS web page. The tutorials are a step by step process which are easy to follow and keep up with.

Cool Design Links:




Cybers Ebay Wordpress Plugin

// May 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Admin Tools, Blogging, Code, Design, Design Resources, For Geeks, I recommend, Useful, Wordpress, Wordpress Plugins, Wordpress Themes, web tools, webdesign, webmaster, wordpress tutorials


Cybers Ebay Wordpress Plugin

The eBay Wordpress Plugin is finally available.

The eBay plugin is very simple but effective. Once installed you input your EbayNetwork Campaign number into the settings, and how many ads you want to appear on each post.

Place the code <?php cybersebay(); ?> within the Wordpress loop and you are set.

The first time you use the plugin you will add a Custom Field to your post with the Key name, ebay. And use the value to hold the keyword for this post to import eBay ads. From here on out, whenever you write a post, you can select the custom field key, ebay from the pulldown list and add the keyword you wish to show listings for.

Below is an example from another site. The article is titled “Fun Stocking Stuffers” and the keyword for eBay is “Christmas Stocking Stuffers”

Click for full size screenshot

During my testing of the plugin I received a $27 click, and that is certainly the highest valued click I have ever received !

And it is ONLY $9.95 !!

Buy Now

High Roller Black Theme

High Roller Black

Release Date: March 30, 2009
Latest version: 1.0
Wordpress Version Up To: WP 2.7.1

Features:

The High Roller Theme for wordpress is a highly customized theme for your gambling affiliate website.

Here are some of the features:

  • Custom top casino/poker room table
  • Customize index page images and posts in seconds
  • Hide affiliate links and track outgoing hits
  • Custom banner management system with click tracking
  • Custom review and bonus templates
  • Custom room management system
  • Customize index page images and posts in seconds
  • Very clean and professional design




How To Be A Rockstar WordPress Designer

// May 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Admin Tools, Affiliate Networking, Blogging, Code, Design, Design Resources, I recommend, Premium Wordpress Themes, Tutorial, Useful, Website Templates, Wordpress, Wordpress Themes, Wp Themes, web tools, webdesign, webmaster, wordpress tutorials


How To Be A Rockstar WordPress Designer

Managing web content has always been tricky, but with WordPress, any web designer can have a flexible, free and powerful CMS to use not just on blogging projects, but on all sorts of websites. In How To Be a Rockstar WordPress Designer you will learn step by step how to take a straight HTML site and power it with WordPress.During the course of the book you’ll build THREE WordPress themes, a blog, a portfolio site and a general site with menus and submenus. Each theme demonstrates different aspects of WordPress theming and all three are packaged with the book so you’ll have Photoshop, HTML, CSS and WordPress PHP files to refer to..

The book is aimed at anyone with a solid understanding of HTML/CSS. You don’t need to know PHP, you don’t need to have ever even touched WordPress before. The examples begin from scratch and build on each other, while basic PHP principles that are used are explained in an easy to understand manner.If you’ve ever wanted to get started with WordPress theming, or you’re looking to take your skills to the next level with advanced theming concepts, this is the book for you!

Price: 29.00 USD

You are buying this product directly from Rockable Press. Please contact Rockable Press for ANY questions related to this product or purchase.

212 Pages of Expert
Freelancing Advice

Covering everything from getting started to expanding your business, How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer is the official Freelance Switch book. Written by Collis & Cyan Ta’eed – the founders of the site – it’s packed with new information, advice and insights not covered on the blog.

If you want to start your freelance career the right way, then How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer will give you everything you need to become the best freelancer in town!




Nifty New Free Icon Sets

// May 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogging, Cool Links, Design, Design Resources, Graphic Design, Graphics, Icons, Rss Feed Icons, Social Network, Social Network Icons, free, icon sets, webdesign, webmaster


Here are some new icons sets for your enjoyment. I found these sets in a bigger list on Noupe.com which is a damn cool website that you absolutely must check out!

Function App Icon Set

Web Injection

Cute Critters Free Icon Pack

Social Media Icons Pack

Onebit

Handycons

Social Bookmark Sketchy Icons

Cool Design Links




All Your Tweets Belong To Us – Resources for Freelance Designers

// May 14th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogging, Cool Links, Design Resources, For Geeks, Social Network, Twitter, Useful, webdesign, webmaster


All Your Tweets Belong To Us – Resource links being tweeted about today… Follow me and you will see..

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WP Remix 2.0 – Not just a theme. A complete package.

// March 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogging, Design, Design Resources, Featured, For Geeks, Headline, I recommend, Magazine Theme, Premium Wordpress Themes, Useful, Wordpress, Wordpress Themes, Wp Themes, webdesign, webmaster, wordpress tutorials


Not just a theme.
A complete package.

The more I get into your template and coding of WP Remix, the more I am amazed at the versatility. This is by far the most versatile theme for Wordpress on the planet.

Bundled with more than 50 strategically designed & coded custom static page templates, the theme enables everyone to publish a small sites in minutes saving weeks of time, maintaining top notch standards-compliant quality.


WP Remix a WordPress powered master theme, is completely customizable, quality coded & comes bundled with many layout options that helps everyone create custom websites in minutes saves weeks of time, maintaining top notch standards – compliant quality.

  • Ideal for EVERYONE!
    Multi Purpose, hassle-free theme that covers almost every possible layout. Saves you weeks of time.
  • WordPress as CMS at its best.
    Insert a page layout by a single click. Edit them in visual editor and publish!. What’s more you can set different sidebar and headers for different pages if you wish.
  • Multiple Options – Easily Customizable.
    A Blog + 10 Homepage options + 20 Single page with different layout + 10 product/gallery page + 5 Miscellaneous page, Plugins compatibility, Ajax slider, Smart Drop menu, Tabs, Table…
  • Light-weight, Professional code and design
    W3C Valid, Table less & Cross browser compatible, widget-ready, highly customizable…

You only need one WP Remix theme to build all your web projects. Take a look at complete features! or View Videos on how the theme works






20+ New WordPress Themes for March 2009

// March 22nd, 2009 // 4 Comments » // Blogging, Design, Design Resources, Featured, Magazine Theme, Premium Wordpress Themes, Useful, Wordpress, Wp Themes, free, webdesign


Here you’ll find a list of 20 super nifty new Wordpress Themes for March 2009. Make sure to subscribe to my RSS feed so you can get notified when I post more useful resources for bloggers. (more…)