Recently in Web Design Category
One of the several AIR applications I've downloaded recently is the Kuler Desktop. Like its online predecessor,
the application lets you search for the newest, highest rated, or most
popular color schemes available in the database - very convenient for
inspiration/guidance in the design process. I find the small size and
availability of the desktop version to be particularly appealing, and
it also has a nice feature of allowing you to drag color schemes out of
the main window and keep them around for later use or reference. Then,
when you finally decide on a color scheme, there are commands to copy
the hex values of each of the colors or save the them to an ASE file.
Nothing mind-blowing, just a nice little program. While there isn't a
desktop version available at this point in time, ColourLovers is also a helpful resource.
Back when the internet was just getting started, web design was atrocious. This site and the above screenshots from 1996 can attest to that. But my, how things change! This morning a friend of mine introduced me to http://webcreme.com/, and I had a hard time dragging myself away from it. We (on a larger sense) are really approaching the point of perfection when it comes to web design. Sure, new technologies will come along that will revolutionize how we view information, but as far as the traditional HTML/CSS and the major scripting languages go, there are quite a few top notch sites out there now - readable, easily navigable, expressive, informative, aesthetic and interactive. And perhaps even more exciting are sites like this or the system that's powering this very blog, which allow users to easily generate custom buttons, patterns, blocks of code, or even entire websites. The formula is being perfected, and it's becoming easier and easier for the average Joe to partake. Of course, the real artists will always be on the next level, blazing new paths before the existing trends become too dull. However, it's great that making a "pretty good" website is becoming very manageable for the novice-mediocre developer.Below, I've posted screenshots of some of my favorites I've found at http://webcreme.com/, although there are many, many more.
