Too many of us forget to see we’re not the only persons that know something about our work. It’s easy to start thinking in the way of being the only person that is right, often after a few experiences that made you think something.
Just don’t get stuck in that view, the clients can come up with great ideas.

Let’s take this example of the talking dog I mentioned earlier. You might just want to *facepalm* and hang up the phone. But think about it, the way he said it isn’t really interesting for a web design, but he is a website user too. This means there is at least 1 out of the 6 billion people on earth that would like this website.
The client tries to express his own view and feeling around that subject, it is YOUR task as a designer to reduce that talking dog idea to a component that fits.

Just look at MailChimp, their site is mentioned in numerous lists of great designs. mascots are all over the place now, so was this idea of the client actually so bad? I don’t think so.

2. A client often Knows his Audience Better than You

If this client with his talking dog idea has a fashion business, you’re an outsider.
This brings us back to point 1, you’re the external that can think outside the box, but you’re not always an user of their service or product.

The client knows his own clients like clothes… and Chihuahuas.
Do you find it disturbing to find an advertisement on a Photoshop blog about PC or Mac hardware?

Got more reasons? Comment them and they’ll be added to the list.

No related posts.

What Happened

In just 10 minutes, if it were that many, a 100 clicks were made on the link @psdtuts reposted. And about 3 people already retweeted.

That’s not insanely much, but I didn’t get much attention before about the post (eventhough it has been my most viewed post).

After 5 hours the link already got over 300 clicks and 15 retweets in total! I didn’t dare to dream about that.
This proves that the post is actually good enough, but I just didn’t manage to get the audience viewing it.

So actually I got the traffic I aim at for a period of 30 days, just in 5 hours.

How I Tracked the Link

I knew bit.ly had great options for tracking all kinds of information, but the link wasn’t mine.
It’s really easy though!

To track any link that’s made by bit.ly, paste the URL in your adress bar and add a “+” at the end of  URL and hit enter ofcourse.
You can see the clicks of the specific link, the total clicks for the actual post, when people clicked, where they come from and so much more.

It’s Not just about Hustling

When I saw these results I didn’t think: “CHA-CHING!!!1!”
I was just happy to see people were reading my work and liked it.
This motivated me and that makes me write this post.

I know this post is much dedicated to myself, but if people didn’t share their personal experiences we would get nowhere.

No related posts.

But this method is different, you don’t need to have a website and all these investments.
You also don’t need to do hard things or so, you just need to know how to do the easy things.

Click here to visit HowToMakeMoneyOnFiverr.com

In his eBook you learn how to use Fiverr to make the money flow.
You offer jobs you want to do, can be from writing to going to the toilet, you can offer almost anything.
My friend made up a new account on Fiverr to prove his method works, after the first hours he got overwelmed with  orders!

Go find out more about it on his own site.

Related posts:

1. A way to get Stuff for Free Online – Lockerz

But we’re going to take a look at this cloud hosting since it’s relativly new and has a lot of new features.
First of all, if you set up a cloud server, you only need a few minutes. Just select what software you want and it’ll be done in no time. There is also NO hassle of choosing the right hardware and configuring this all.

Also the fee might be something you’ll like. Gigenetcloud offers you a pack where you only pay what you use, so an hourly fee, so you can quickly create a server and then shut it down and just pay a few cents!

Looking at the hardware part it’s even better, you can easly resize the hard disk space, change the power used, select RAM and so much more by just clicking buttons!

It is also great to store important backups and so on, because there is a great firewall and restoration possibilities. In one word it’s very safe.

If you still don’t get what cloud computing is about, you could compare it with Dropbox but so much better.
This service actually has almost all the features the other hosting companies don’t have…

Take a look at Gigenetcloud.com (their layout is very sleek by the way), you can learn everything you need to know about cloud hosting right there and order the service for a very reasonable price!

No related posts.

Right before we even start to talk about why gradients are often a better choice it should be clear we’re talking about subtle ones. It’s extremely easy to recognize a newbie’s work by looking at their gradients. They often use extreme color combinations like red and green, they can work together maybe, but a gradient will often make it look filthy and brown at the center.

Red & Green = Poop

Also keep in mind that black and white are the highest in contrast, try to avoid gradients that go from pitch-black to pure white.
Keep that in mind, the middle is a mixture of both colors, you’re actually working with 3 colors, not 2!

A Comparison

Black to White Gradient

Look at this default gradient of Photoshop. It’s a small space with a color going to the extreme opposite. Do you ever see that in real life? Maybe on chrome objects or other weird materials, but just admit it, it doesn’t look very nice…

Soft Black to Soft Grey Gradient

Now look at this gradient, I changed the black to a more very dark grey and the white is very light grey now.
This feels so much more like a material can touch, which is good.

Real Life Gradients

In real life we almost never see plain colors. Gradients are like the light on objects in real life.
We’re used to these kind of colors instead of a plain color and if we’re used to something it brings rest.
That’s why gradients don’t work so well with vibrant colors like lime or cyan. And those plain colors aren’t meant to bring rest at all.

Please note there are always people who do like those (in my opinion) weird color combinations, but you often find these back on sites about the worst web layouts ever…

Examples of Good Gradient Usage

Quiktab Theme (WordPress)

Note the only plain colors are the parts that need attention, the content areas.

Black Aperture Theme (WordPress)

Even the “logo” isn’t plain text. Again the important things that need to pop out have plain colors.

Examples of Good Plain Color Usage

TealGray Retro Theme (WordPress)

Without the footer its gradient tabs the page would look more rigid, straight, maybe professional but also colder.

UniSphere Theme (WordPress)

Because the colors are plain the design also gets calm in some way because everything is clear. Compare it with a sunny environment compared to a shady environment. Still the big blue area at the top needed a pattern to make it softer and more comfortable to your eyes.

What do You Think?

Did you already know this? Did I bring you a good reminder? Or maybe you think this post stinks because I’m totally wrong. Just leave a comment

Related posts:

1. 5 Free Wordpress Themes you may Like
2. How to create the Letterpress Effect in Photoshop
3. 7 Outstanding Websites with Photoshop Tutorials

1 Using the 1px Line

HOW:

Copy this image in Photoshop or use your own object and create a new layer on top.
Draw a 1px white line on top of the edge with the following settings.

Pick a big and soft eraser and erase the outer parts just a little bit to make it look less hard.
Lower the opacity to reduce the lighting on the edge.

RESULT:

PROS:

Easy
Fastest method
Good for big objects and designs

CONS:

Sometimes it doesn’t look soft enough
You’re restricted to a straight line, round edges for circle shaped objects are hard to create

PRACTICES:

http://icondock.com/

http://m1k3.net/

http://www.atebits.com/

http://timvandamme.com/

2 Using the Lens Flare effect

HOW:

Create a new layer
Fill it with Black with either the Paint Bucket or by pressing alt+shift.
Go to the Effects menu > Render > Lens Flare.

Use the default options or use my slight change on the image below.

Decrease the vertical size to about a 1pixel line.
Change the horizontal size so it fits better (optional).
Optionally erase a bit of the sides to get it softer again.
Change the Blend Mode (try them out, it depends on the object’s colors).

If you want to apply this effect on round objects, use the same method.
But make the width smaller and the height bigger.

RESULT:

PROS:

It will give a glossier effect
It’s great for glassy, transparent objects
It includes more colors than just a white line
You don’t need to make the lens flare rounded to place it on round objects
It gives the effect of sun reflecting strongly on shiny objects (natural effect)

CONS:

It’s more time consuming
The multiple colors can look weird on objects with a other colors
It makes the edge look wider.

PRACTICES:

http://Axertion.deviantart.com/art/Team-CoolerMaster-3D-Logo-126475299

http://axertion.deviantart.com/art/RTdi-3D-Logo-137231129

3 Using the Pen Tool

HOW:

Create a new layer.
Pick the Pen Tool  and draw the line you want with mostly just 2 anchor points.

http://twistereli.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Afbeelding-20.png
Select the Brush Tool and pick your desired size and softness or use my settings and make sure your Foreground Color is White.
Pick the Pen Tool again and right click on the Path (the white line).
Click Stroke Path
Check Simulate Pressure  and pick the Brush out of the menu.

Apply and lower the opacity of use blending modes.

It might happen that the line comes too short, keep this in mind so you draw the line longer on future works if needed.

RESULT:

PROS:

You’re totally in charge of the shape
Not so time consuming when you know the technique well enough
You can easly modify errors

CONS:

The line often comes too short
You can’t see the actual result when drawing the line
It sometimes doesn’t look realistic

PRACTICES:

Spotting the difference between a 1px line and the Pen Tool usage is hard

Conclusion:

The 1 px line is the easiest, fastest method with pretty good results.

What do YOU think? Do you have OTHER techniques?

Related posts:

1. How to create the Letterpress Effect in Photoshop
2. Avoid using Plain Colors and use Gradients Instead
3. Photoshop Express

In your document, you should make sure the background is dark enough. I recommend to use atleast 20% black in your main color.
The darker, the better… Although pitch-black doesn’t really look good either.

2. The text

Write the text, it should be brighter than the background. Give it atleast 20% of white (that’s the same as 80% black). You can change this later on.
If you don’t do this, the whole effect will be ruined since we’re attempting to create a realistic effect includding light and shadow.

3. Apply shadow

Open the style menu by double clicking on the text layer.
Apply a Drop Shadow.
This shadow will actually not be a shadow at all, instead, it will be the light.

Use the following settings:

Letterpress Settings

Also making the curve a bit more hollow can make the effect softer.
Note that the angle is set at 90°. You can also use 120° (default) when working with big letterpressed texts or shapes.

Extra: Adding more texture in the background

To get a more realistic feeling you can add noise in the background, do this as described below:
Duplicate the background layer (the one with the dark color on) by either dragging the layer on the new layer icon or by selecting the layer and pressing CTRL+J (Windows) or CMD+J (Mac).
With the new (so the upper one) selected, click Filter in the menubar at the top. Noise > Add Noise.
Set the amount to 2%. Distribution to Uniform. And check Monochromatic. Apply this filter by hitting OK.

Being subtle in design makes everything more pleasant to look at and harder to define how the effect is accomplished. (keep that in mind!)
So let’s make this noise more subtle by changing the layer opacity to 40% (can be done in the layers panel or layer style window).

My result:

LetterPress Result

Take a look at the .PSD file:

Download here!

Show me your results!

Maybe you made a whole web layout based on this effect, or just created your first time letterpress by this tutorial.
I’ll be pleased to watch your results and help you out if you want to!

Related posts:

1. How To: Add Shine on Edges in Photoshop
2. Avoid using Plain Colors and use Gradients Instead
3. 7 Outstanding Websites with Photoshop Tutorials

Safari Bookmarks

Many of those bookmarks will get archived in Delicious and will probably never be looked at again. Just because you didn’t find them anymore or didn’t find them important enough to read compared to the other bookmarks you have. And after some time you already learned what that one specific non-read article had to say, so it gets useless.

My Delicious

But every now and then you should take a look at the “blogging” category of my bookmarks, take a look at the titles (meaning they should be good or you just overlook them!) and decide weither or not you’d read them.
You can decide that by looking what you already know and by looking at what your blog misses, even if it doesn’t directly pulls your attention or doesn’t look important to you.

By reading those you still filter the useable ones for that moment and the ones you will directly use. Try to open them up in some browser tabs and start editing your blog  my way  based on the article. If you’re done one article you close it and preferably move the bookmark from the unread list, it depends if you actually completed everything useable in that article.

RSS Feeds

So if the principe isn’t clear to you yet, you use those bookmarks as a checklist.
This way you stay sort of organized and you can work on your blog using those articles whenever you want to, not just when you read your feeds right away.

Group Discussion

So how do you work with how-to/informative blogging or design articles that pop in your RSS client? Do you +favorite them? Or do you read them completely and pass on? Or…

Related posts:

1. The Power of 1 Tweet
2. 5 Free Wordpress Themes you may Like
3. 7 Outstanding Websites with Photoshop Tutorials

For me the best tutorials you can find on the internet, they aim on the different aspects of Photoshop. From designing icons to working away pimples in pictures. One thing is sure, those tutorials are from the best quality and mostly written as guest posts. If you pay you can get the most advanced tutorials you’ve probably seen so far and you’re able to download all .psd files of the finished products of those tutorials.

PSD Tuts +

2. Grafpedia

This website mostly aims on web template designs. They also offer many resources you can download and if you pay you can get more than 70.000 downloads.

Grafpedia

3. Tutorial9

Probably the most popular one among many people. Mostly comparable with Grafpedia, but with a slightly easier navigation between the tutorials. There isn’t anything you should pay for as far as I could see, but they may pay you for a guest post.

Tutorial 9

4. HV-Designs

They’re aim is for the biggest part on creating icons and web interfaces. They also offer coding tutorials that may be useful to code those layouts you made with their tutorials.

Hvdesigns

5. PSD Vault

If you’re into making text effects and manipulating pictures with epic effects, then this site is your N°1.

PSD Vault

6. Photoshop Lady

Tons of effects here. For me the tutorials are very advanced and absolutely worth a try if you’re interested in special effects, if you use Photoshop to make interfaces and icons this site will probably not really fit you.

Photoshop Lady

7. Drawing Clouds

Simple website, great tutorials. Can’t really say much more.

Drawing Clouds

Do you know Other and maybe even Better Sites?

Related posts:

1. Photoshop Express
2. 5 Free Wordpress Themes you may Like
3. How to create the Letterpress Effect in Photoshop

You can focus on other tasks

If you’re really into a game all you spare time may get into playing this game. It might be good for your skills, but all the other things you could do are getting  postponed.

Be creative, do some sports, do your homework or find a girlfriend.

Still scared to take some breaks because you would lose your skills? Read on!

Your skills will improve

You wont unlearn actions you do frequently. So if you’re that kind of gamer that feels his mouse and keyboard (which probably means you’re the one that’s scared to lose skills) you wont unlearn it at all. You’re used to it and just like the bike-theory it will feel a bit strange after a break, but you’ll get the hang of it again in no time.

But still … IMPROVE skills?

Yes they will most likely improve. When you play alot you develop your own style and then edit it depending on what actions are the most important and so on. This also means you could develop a style that isn’t optimized at all, you might need to go a few steps back and walk a new path.

You know it when a clanmate says you should move a bit different or you’re sensitivity of your mouse is too low/high. It isn’t easy to unlearn your habbit and get used to that new style!

That’s where the break comes to the rescue. By taking this break you will feel a bit strange when playing again, but your brain still knows how everything works. While your skills are kind of recovering, you’re developing a new style according to the situation you’re playing in. So better play on a deathmatch server or something where you can easly retry and continiously play.

Your brain got some time to recover

I know you don’t like to hear it, but taking breaks (eventually long ones) is healthy for you.

Time for you to talk

Did you notice any difference after not playing for days, months, years?

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