I’m guessing that most of you have seen the recent article over on Smashing Magazine, entitled “In Defense of Photoshop,” in which Tom Giannattasio makes a case for the continued use of Photoshop as the primary application for web design. The article makes some interesting points about the creative process, and the even suggests that designing in the browser somehow creates a disconnect between the designer and his work.

I’m not so sure about this second point, though. I understand where Giannattasio is coming from, but I think the argument assumes a singular design methodology. It assumes that the designer needs to actually create the design as one, organic unit, much in the same way that an artist would create a painting. In fact, the article explicitly states that “Great design relies on an open dialogue between the artist and the medium.”

Now that is an interesting statement, which really puts the article’s argument in perspective. The assumption that I see here is that effective design is an organic process, which brings the entire visual composition of the site to the forefront.

“So what?” you ask. Isn’t that what design is all about?

No. At least not entirely. Design is about making intentional and purposeful choices for framing content (as discussed here). Obviously, visual treatment plays a huge part in that, and as designers we pay a lot of attention to that part of the job – maybe even too much from time to time. But that’s not the entire purpose of design.

Building a successful website is no small task, especially if you’re going into business – it takes time, effort and dedication, from working out your business plan and unique selling point (USP) through to designing and managing your website and optimizing it for search engine rankings.

So with all the effort you’re putting into your site, why restrict yourself to just one language market?

Finally, you’ve done it. You’ve successfully persuaded your visitor to close the deal. Now it’s time for the hard close.

We all know how important the layout of your sites homepage is, or the product details page but what about the pricing table? No one ever talks about that, when really it’s such a vital part of a websites sales funnel.

The real tricky part is the strategic thinking behind it. You need to make the entry version bare bones and not give away too much, yet you still need to show your clients the value of the product. It takes clever thinking and also a visually captivating pricing page. I’ve come up with a select few sites that have perfected the art of the pricing table. Use this as inspiration to create that perfect pricing page or update your current one to increase the conversion rate on your site.

They’ve got it nailed down…

Basecamp

I felt it necessary to congratulate and portray some of the successes of Facebook on this very big occasion.

As of today (July 21st) Facebook has succeeded in signing up 500 million accounts! This is obviously a huge number and it’s not only individuals. As many of you already know we are seeing more and more companies jumping on the bandwagon in an effort to extend their reach beyond the typical platforms.

The site wide uniformity of Facebook has been a flagship characteristic of the Facebook and it seems they have worked very hard to stay within their original business model. Despite this, they have created Facebook fan pages with many different apps that you can use as a way to customize your business presence. Up till now, we have mainly seen this space used for coupons and promotions.

This obviously isn’t a tutorial on how to design a company landing page, but rather I hope to inspire you as to what successfully companies are doing within this space.

Victoria’s Secret

Unlike your average computer user, those with a creative profession would enjoy looking at something other than a portrait of their family all day. Having a wallpaper, or background, that stands out from the rest can give you a fresh perspective to help your imagination conjure up the idea you were looking for. This is why I have created a collection of beautiful and creative wallpapers to freshen up your desktop.

Abstract Balooning

Inkd has offered to give away a free one year subscription to its entire print design library. That includes 50 template downloads per month and access to new content added during your subscription period (a $399 value)! To enter, just follow @inkdtweet on twitter and tweet this post with the hashtag #Inkddmagcontest. We’ll announce the winners next Wednesday-so be sure to tweet away!

Put yourself in this scenario. You are invited to several job interviews, much of them for the kind of jobs you have only dreamed about getting. The kind you jokingly told your friends about when you figured out what you wanted to be when you grew up. You want to impress your future clients. Personally, you are filled with confidence for what you do having been to the best schools, and have spent many years perfecting your profession. You eat, sleep, and breathe the job that you do. Getting ready for the interviews, you realize you haven’t been to anything formal in a very long time. Your old moth eaten clothes wont come back into style for a few more decades. Money has been a little tight right now, I mean lets face it, schooling is expensive. That’s why the thought of washing your dandruff salt and pepper hair, getting a haircut, and buying a nice quality suite are things you are more than willing to do, because if you get this job, it will set you free financially. And you know if you show up looking like old, smelly, Rip Van Winkle, you will get escorted from the party faster than it took you to find directions on Google Maps. The only thing your potential employer is going to know of you is your lack of personal hygiene, not your outstanding qualities for the job he was going to offer you.

To most of us, we know the importance of first impressions, and going to a job opportunity under dressed is something we would never do. However, did you know if your website is dressed with an ugly out of date, eye sore logo design, you are in fact showing up to many job opportunities like the man from the scenario? Everyone who visits your website, could be that one contact that would be able to give you the job that you have always wanted, but at the same time could immediately be turned off from their first impression your logo gave about your business. Whether your business is a multi-million franchise, or your basic ‘Ma and Pa’ family company, it always helps to look professional in all angles of your profession. Here are some quick basic, yet vital tips to know about what makes an attractive logo design. We will compare them with logo’s that don’t have these elements, you be the judge!

1. Clean

Sometimes less is more. Most great logos are very simple.

Although there are a lot of quality tutorials available for designing logos, case studies from real-world projects can prove to be even more valuable as a learning resource. Case studies are excellent for showing more of the entire process, the steps that are involved, and putting it into the context of a specific client.

In this post we’ll point you towards 17 logo design case studies that will give you an in-depth look at the process of logo or identity design.

Logo Design Process and Walkthrough for Vivid Ways

WordPress 3.0 is more than just the next in a long line of WordPress releases. It will see the merging of WordPress with WordPress MU (multi-user), which lets you run as many blogs as you like with a single install, a move that’s been widely welcomed by the blogging community. Besides this major advancement, however, little has been announced about any further updates to WordPress 2.9. Messageboards are currently awash with demanding bloggers, listing the new features they most want to see and the plugins they want shifted into core. Below you’ll find the 9 new features that are most in demand.

Everyone loves to get feedback, but it’s not always easy to get the feedback you need, the kind of feedback that brings a fresh perspective and valuable insight to your project. Whether you are a professional designer, freelancer, client, friend or boss, learning to give and receive effective feedback is an essential skill. Here are 5 simple rules you can apply today to make sure you get the right feedback:

1. Start by clarifying the objective

What is the goal of your project? Make sure the people offering you feedback know exactly what is. The response you receive should revolve around better ways to achieve this objective.