Spoonfed Design

Spoonfeeding you design for your creative side.

30 Awesome CSS GalleriesJanuary 5

We all need inspiration, and sometimes it’s hard to find just what you are looking for. Well, that’s what inspiration galleries are for. Here are 30 great CSS inspiration galleries.

Feel free to add to the list by dropping a comment.

Best Web Gallery

CSS Mania

CSS Beauty

CSS Remix

CSS Import

Branding: Finding the Perfect NameJanuary 1

A large part of design is marketing, and therefore branding. So one huge problem every designer may come across is thinking of a name for a brand. A brand name needs to be strong and support the brand’s purpose. A good name is important for defining a brand and building it’s reputation. The name is most often the first thing a client will see, so it has to be good enough to make the client want more.  Here are some tips to help you find that perfect name.

What Makes a Good Name?

Communicate a Feeling - A brand name shouldn’t just be words, it needs to communicate an image and feeling of what the brand is. Put emotion into the brand name.

Relevance - A brand name must be relevant to the brand. It shouldn’t say what the brand is word-for-word, but it should connect to the brand one way or another.

Short and Simple - A good brand name is short, simple, and easy to remember. Try to keep your name to two words at most. The best names are only one word, but are still strong and leave a positive image on a customer or client.

Domain Name - Keep in mind that you are going to need a name that has an available domain name to go along with it. Your domain name doesn’t have to be exactly the same as the brand name, though. You can add or remove words, but make

How To Succeed As a Freelancer In 2009December 22 2008

We can already predict that 2009 isn’t going to be the best year money wise, so it’s going to take a lot to succeed in 2009. It can be done though. It’s going to take effort and smart planning.

Strategic Business Plan

1. Writing The Plan - If you want to earn a good amount of money next year, you are going to need to start with a foundation, a plan. Before the year even starts, write out a well structured and smart business plan. What does this mean? Well, first look at how you’re going to make your income. Once you’ve analyzed your sources of income, determine what you are going to need to spend your money on. Maybe software, computer equipment, and don’t forget the essentials like food and taxes. Include everything you are going to need to buy, and write down how much it will cost you. Make sure to write them in order, too. Put the things you really need first, then the items that you want at the end. You can get to those items you want if you earn enough money.

2. Make Monetary Goals - Don’t plan to buy at a set date, plan on buying it once you reach a monetary goal. Write the list based on cash flow instead of time. For example, if you want to buy another copy of Photoshop CS4 ($700), plan to buy it when you earn an extra thousand dollars.  Notice that I said $1000 and

Brilliant Package Design - Tips/InspirationDecember 18 2008

Package design is one of the more common forms of design. Package design is something we all see everyday, but we notice some designs more than others. It’s the designs we notice that pull us in and make us want to learn more about, or possibly even buy the product. Here are 5 tips to help you get to that design, and over 30 brilliant package designs to go along with them for inspiration.

Keep It Cost Effective

Obviously, one of the biggest challenges in package design from now on is going to be keeping your design cost effective. Companies are looking to save money by making packaging smaller.

Packages have to be small, but still contain all the necessary information. Try keeping out items that are unnecessary and only use components that add to the design.

Make It Noticeable

A consumer is most likely to buy a product with a flashy package that grabs them. Like I said in a previous article, a good package will represent a product worth buying. You have only a few seconds to catch a consumer’s attention.

A way to do this is through vibrant colors that attract a consumer’s eye. Adding a lot of color to a package works great for a more “fun” product, while a more basic color scheme works better for a more “serious” product. Your colors will be determined by the target audience too.

Keep it Relevant To The Product

A good package design needs to convey the feeling of the product. The package needs to v

How To: Using Highlights In Web DesignDecember 15 2008

One of the big trends in web design right now is using highlights and bevels to separate colors. This is a very good technique, as it provides a smooth contrast between two colors and makes for a great clean look. Even I have used this technique on the Spoonfed background. Notice how I used a 1 pixel line to separate the blue and the gray colors.

How/When To Use It

Using this technique is a great way to separate background colors to make the design flow better. It gives off a very professional feeling when used in CSS.  It is best to use this highlight technique as a separator between two different background colors, or between headers and menus. Although these highlights are only 1 or 2 pixels high, they can really make a big difference.

Style 1 - 1 Pixel White Line

This trick isn’t at all hard and it is very easy to accomplish. The easiest and simplest highlight is just using a 1 pixel white line extending across the whole page. This style looks best on grays and lighter colors.

In Photoshop, use the horizontal Single Row Marquee tool to select a 1 px line where two colors meet. Then fill the select area with white.

The image below shows how I used a thin white line to divide the li