If we had Steve Ballmer introducing this article, the pleasantly plump Microsoft CEO would be stalking the stage, sweating and exclaiming “Typography!, Typography!, Typography!, Typography!”. That’s how much we think typographic implementation will be the biggest trend in web design for 2010. We also think minimalism, print world influence, importance of mobile device optimization, and rising usage of HTML5 and CSS3 techniques will be major players on the design front for 2010.
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Things that sound dirty...
"Semi-educational (and semi-literate) entries from the Majordomo at Helikopter Design"
Web Design Trends for 2010
30+ *Off the Wall* Free Fonts for Web Designers
Feeling a little bored with Arial, Georgia, or Times New Roman? Yearning to break free from that antique list of web safe fonts? Try some of these. 30 of the most “interesting” fonts from our collection here at Helikopter Design. Sure, you may hate some, love some, or be downright appalled at others, but it’s hard not to be somewhat intrigued by a typeface called “Horse Puke”, right?
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65+ Must Follow Web Designers on Twitter
If you haven’t been hiding under a large, mossy boulder recently, you may have noticed the just-launched Twitter feature “Twitter Lists”. This new-fangled app gives you the ability to follow groups of people categorized into any fashion imaginable. Actors, artists, athletes, geographic area, family members, you name it. We here at Helikopter Design have gone to the trouble of providing you with a Twitter List of “Must Follow Web Designers”. 68 of the most talented designers working today. Get educated, get enlightened, get annoyed. Get on it!
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Using Wordpress for a Web Design Portfolio
Ah, yes. WordPress. The “belle of the ball” amongst content management systems. What started out as a humble little blogging tool has developed into the most popular platform in the known universe (and elsewhere). Why not use Joomla or Drupal? In a word, PLUG-INS.
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Listening Habits of Highly Effective Web Designers
(Apologies to Dr. Stephen R. Covey for the blatant parody of his cheesy book for the title of this article)
We here at Helikopter Design love music. Maybe more than web design.(Blasphemy!) It’s an essential part of the design process for us. Setting the right tone for inspiration, helping re-energize when attention is flagging, and making mind-numbingly-repetitive tasks much more tolerable. Our personal favorites include Animal Collective, Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, and FSOL.
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10 Essential Firefox Add-Ons for Web Designers
For the majority of web designers, Firefox is the browser of choice. On our own humble little design-centric site we can see that approximately 53% of visitors use it. The vast majority of those also use the very latest version. This is largely in part due to the amazing degree of customization that can be done with Mozilla’s star pupil. The following add-ons, for us, have risen into the rarefied air of “must-haves”.
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10 Excellent Books for Learning Web Design
So, you wanna be a web designer? In addition to the long hours, low pay, and diminished social status, you’ll find yourself competing against the likes of
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10 Great Examples of the javascript scrolling effect
While working on this website, I was intrigued by the javascript effect of smoothly (or jarringly if you prefer) scrolling to internal links on the page.
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Interview
I was lucky enough to be asked for an interview by Luc Arnold of Spicywebdesigners.com. You can check it out here.
Welcome!
Welcome to the portfolio of James Martin, Philadelphia based web designer. Have a look around and if you like what you see, give me a shout. I’d love to work on a project with you. This site was powered by Red Bull, strong coffee, and Marlboro menthols. I’d also like to give a tip o’ the hat to Animal Collective, Boards of Canada, Autechre, and Wilco for providing the working soundtrack.