50+ Articles to Make You a Better Web Designer

This post is a collection of some of the best articles that I’ve come across on various topics related to web design. These are excellent, insightful, thought-provoking articles that may be able to help you in your own design career. Some are new and some are a few years old, but they all have something valuable to say.

To make it easier to digest, I’ve categorized them according to topic (with a general category at the end). Choose a few areas that are particularly challenging for you and see what you can learn from these experts.

For more design resources from DesignM.ag please see:

• Photoshop Actions
• 400+ Floral Brushes for Photoshop
• 500+ Photoshop Textures Brushes

CSS:

Which CSS Grid Framework Should You Use for Your Web Design? – NETTUTS

6 Keys to Understanding Modern CSS-Based Layouts – Jonathan Snook

Faux Absolute Positioning – A List Apart

Creating Sexy Style Sheets – Vitamin

Efficient CSS with Shorthand Properties – 456 Berea St.

CSS Float Theory: Things You Should Know – Smashing Magazine

CSS Specificity: Things You Should Know – Smashing Magazine

Top Reasons Your CSS Columns Are Messed Up – Warpspire

100% Height Layout Using CSS – Dave Woods

Typography:

Typography Essentials – A Getting Started Guide – Freelance Folder

Typographic Contrast and Flow – Web Designer Wall

10 Examples of Beautiful CSS Typography and How They Did It – 3.7Crea.tv

Layout:

Grid-Based Design: Six Creative Column Techniques – Smashing Magazine

Five Simple Steps to Designing Grid Systems – Mark Boulton

Building a Semantic 4-Column CSS Layout – Mirificam Press

Indestructible Website: How to Build an EM Based Layout that Won’t Break – Mirificam Press

Multi-Column Layouts Climb Out of the Box – A List Apart

Setting Type on the Web to a Baseline Grid – A List Apart

An Introduction to Using Patterns in Web Design – 37Signals

CSS Layouts: 40+ Tutorials, Tips, Demos and Best Practices – Noupe

The Incredible Em & Elastic Layouts with CSS – Jon Tan

Whitespace – A List Apart

Color:

Color for Coders – Color and Design for the Non-Designer – SitePoint

Choosing Color Combinations – Veerle’s Blog

Creativity:

12 Ways to Tap Into an Endless Well of Creativity – PSDTUTS

8 Web Design Tactics to Help You When You’re Stuck – SEOmoz

Usability:

Why and How: Styling TeXt Links – Andy Rutledge

Design Decisions vs. Audience Considerations – Digital Web Magazine

Practical Usability Testing- Digital Web

The Ultimate Web Design Usability Checklist- Not Usable

10 Usability Nightmares You Should Be Aware Of- Smashing Magazine

30 Usability Issues to Be Aware Of – Smashing Magazine

23 Actionable Lessons from Eye-Tracking Studies – Virtual Hosting Blog

Usability 101: Introduction to Usability – Jakob Nielson’s Alertbox

Business:

A Simple Guide on How to Effectively Talk to Clients – Six Revisions

Getting Design Approval: The Single Mockup Theory – Fadtastic

10 Ways to Get Design Approval – 24 Ways

Free Resource: Pre-Design Questionnaire – Outlaw Design Blog

Design Processes and Why Every Designer Needs One – Positive Space Blog

Accessibility:

Evaluating Website Accessibility Part 1 – Background and Preparation – 456 Berea St.

Evaluating Website Accessibility Part 2 – Basic Checkpoints – 456 Berea St.

Evaluating Website Accessibility Part 3 – Digging Deeper – 456 Berea St.

10 Colour Contrast Checking Tools to Improve the Accessibility of Your Web Design – 456 Berea St.

7 Accessibility Mistakes Part 1 – Digital Web Magazine

7 Accessibility Mistakes Part 2 – Digital Web Magazine

Standards:

Developing with Web Standards – 456 Berea St.

5 Most Common Misconceptions About Web Standards – CSS Globe

Portfolios:

Creating a Successful Online Portfolio – Smashing Magazine

Build a Killer Online Portfolio in 9 Easy Steps – Freelance Switch

General:

10 Principles of Effective Web Design – Smashing Magazine

12 Steps to Creating a Professional Web Design – Chromatic Sites

9 Essential Principles for Good Web Design – PSDTUTS

25 Ways to Improve Your Site in 5 Minutes – Fadtastic

35 Designers x 5 Questions – Smashing Magazine

Web Design-isms: 7 Surefire Styles that Work – Vitamin

20 Pro Tips .Net Magazine

7 Crucial Tips for Designing and Maintaining a Large Site – NETTUTS

Design Cheat Sheets for Front-End Web Developers – Six Revisions

Understanding YSlow: What Matters; What Doesn’t – Templature