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