The Italian Job in Social Media Icon Sets

One thing I will say about anything that comes out of Rome [ Italy] : It always has style & character ! Then why should Social Icons be any different ? Behold some Web Fruits for your Blogging & Web site needs..

"Web Treats" Translucence WP Theme ::

It seems that those "Super Talented " folks over at Web Treats are on a continual creative flow with no end in sight ( hopefully NEVER !) , and within this creative flow of theirs , they have now managed to create and present us with one of the most beautiful Wordpress themes out there .

Best Textures for your Design needs

Designing a new project and are stumped for background Textures ? Well , here are 2 sites which will quickly revive & get your creative juices flowing once again !
This place seems to have just about every type / category of texture you are probably looking for , nicely categorized and easily accessible - and as always ( here on Dezign Diva ) FREE . I look to gather up and list here Free Design Resources , and FREE STOCK TEXTURES definitely deserves to be listed in your bookmarks .

Glossy Twitter Speech Bubbles

How beautiful are these ? They're simply Brilliantly Glossy & Huge !

If youre looking for a beautifully unique way to display your Twitter membership , or are looking to create a Twitter Status Widget , then check out this beautiful set .....

All of your online identities into one !

Tired of having all your Online accounts all over the " www " ? If so , then this may just be the alternative solution to all your Online Identity & Account problems .

Glass Like Social Icon Pack + "CSS & Valid XHTML " Icons

This set of Social Icons contains 2 Icons of which most other Social Icon Packs do not : An "XHTML & CSS " Icons for those of you who would like to display your valid CSS & XHTML on your page/ Blog .

CLOUD VECTOR BRUSH SET

This is truly a beautiful set of 17 Vector Brushes which you can download & manipulate in Adobe Photoshop for your next design project .

the Pixel Vixen of Font

A so-called "Dweeb" Re-defining the Face of Font : NYMPHONT ! Typeface, Text , Font Face , or Letters , are a pivotal aspect to any Web Design , and especially where Logo Branding & Identity Branding are concerned . Your Logo [and your choice of Font Face] ,will speak volumes about you , your company & your product .

What the Font ?

Using Selective Font on your Web Page / Blog : Web Designers have known the trick / procedure for incorporating their own selective Font Face now for some time , despite the fact that they never disclose this little tid-bit of information for the rest of us novices. Well, I had been curious lately as to how certain Websites have their own selective Font Face throughout the Entire Page and not just the Header .

Bazaar Designs

: If you are a Web Designer or simply a Vector addict , then Bazaar Designs , is definitely not only your light at the end of a long Design Tunnel , but one of the Best Free Online Web Design Resources .

Glossy Colorful Speech Bubbles

If you have been looking for Speech Bubbles then here are 3 High Gloss Speech Bubbles designed to suit any page or taste !

Designer Resources for your design projects

There are thousands of design resources on the web which can lead to an overwhelming experience when looking for inspiration or ideas, so I created a list of resources that I use on a regular basis. Here is a list of 50 design resources that can be helpful to any designer or marketer.




CSS Galleries

Sometimes it can be hard to come up with design inspiration. CSS galleries are a great place to get design inspiration and they can also be leveraged as a great source of traffic. If you can get your design on these galleries it can drive thousands of visitors to your website.

• Unmatchedstyle
• CSS Beauty
• CSS Vault
• Stylegala
• CSS Drive
• CSS Thesis
• Style Boost
• CSS Elite
• CSS Import
• Web Creme
• CSS Mania
• DesignShack

Web Standards

Designing with web standards is a great way to keep your code clean and search engine friendly. Why design a site with a 1000 lines of code when it can be done in 100 lines of code.

Developing With Web Standards - This document explains how and why using web standards will let you build websites in a way that saves time and money for the developer and provides a better experience for the visitor. Also discussed are other methods, guidelines and best practices that will help produce high-quality websites that are accessible to as many as possible.

Roadmap to Standards

Web Standards Project

Web Standards Checklist

Importance of Web Standards

Validators

Now that you know all about web standards, here are some tools that can help check if your site is compliant. These tools will also help you find errors in your code.

• 
  HTML & XHTML Validator
• CSS Validator

Usability

Usability is probably the most important factor in a website design. Making your website usable can help improve the experience for your visitors as well as help improve your conversion rate.

• 
  What is Usability
• Usability First
• Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes
* Blogs are often too internally focused and ignore key usability issues, making it hard for new readers to understand the site and trust the author.*
• Web Design & Usability Guidelines
• Web usability - the basics
• The Culture of Usability
• 90% of All Usability Testing is Useless
• Ten deadly sins of web design
- A list of ten huge mistakes no web designer or developer should be caught making.
• Information architecture resources
• Usability Views

Blogs/Resources

Blogs are a great resource for up-to-date information on design and usability. Here is a list of blogs that you may want to subscribe to or read on a regular basis.

• 
  Stopdesign
• Signal vs. Noise Blog
- A design and usability blog by 37signals.

Digital Web Magazine is an online magazine intended for professional web designers, web developers and information architects. The magazine consists primarily of work contributed by web authors, as well as by others who occasionally delve into the web realm. It places emphasis on and provides recognition for contributed work. The Magazine is recognized by nearly all of the major web design agencies in the industry.

• 
  A List Apart
  - A List Apart explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices.
  
  
  
• 456 Berea Street
- This is a site by Roger Johansson who writes articles on web standards, accessibility, or usability in one way or another.
• Mezzoblue
- A semi-daily expository and exploratory on all things web, design, and typographic. It is also a personal portfolio site with works in any creative discipline the owner feels fit to publicize.
• Adaptive Path
• Jesse James Garrett
- The blog of the founder of Adaptive Path.
• Jeffrey Veen
• Your Total Site
- YourTotalSite touchs on a wide range of subjects that include usability, accessibility, visual design, online marketing, (X)HTML & CSS, JavaScript, Information Architecture, and more.
• IxDG Resource Library
- A repository of information about interaction design.
• Apples to Oranges
Demystifying Usability - A blog by Frank Spillers, a usability consultant.

Color Resources

Color is an important factor in design. Color can separate your site from your competition and it can also convey a specific message to your visitors. If you provide a personalized service you may want to choose colors that are soft and personal or if you want a corporate look and feel you may want to pick hard colors. Here are several resources that I use to help me make color decisions.

• 
  Color Schemer
- Online color scheme generator.
• Color Meaning
- An article that explains the symbolism and meaning of different color types.
• The Meaning of Color in Web Design
- How colors influence audiences when marketing products through the Internet.
• Symbolism of Color
• Color Matters
- Explore how color affects emotions, appetite, vision, sexuality, design, and art.

Typography

There are many different types of fonts and they can greatly affect how readable your site is, so choose wisely.

• 1001 Free Fonts
- A large selection of true type fonts for Windows and Macintosh.
• The Anatomy of Web Fonts
• Typetester
- Typetester is an online application for comparison of the fonts for the screen. Its' primary role is to make web designer's life easier.

I hope this article will enable your web designing project even further , and hope that it has been helpful . Stay tuned , more Dezign Matters are coming up :)

Design & Scalability :

Today's Web site design lends itself to creativity. But inspiration often means low scalability. Here are several ways one can factor in scalability when designing a personal or company Web site.

Beautifully Bright Wallpapers

These brightly colored Wallpapers are simply stunning and come to us from those great folks over @ My Site My Way . They are truly gorgeous & simply luminous !