iPixel Creative is a Singapore web design and development Company. At iPixel Creative, we provides web design solution which helps your company stand out from the competitors. Our Solutions includes web design, website development, cms development, ecommerce solution and hosting solutions.
The tremendous thing about the design community is that we all love to share. We really do. Whether we share our thoughts and ideas via an in-depth article, or by giving advice/feedback on a forum, or even by freely offering high-quality resources. The sharing is what makes our community truly great! Here are this months 50 best free resources for web designers from November 2014:
Building a startup can be a time consuming and stressful task. The more you can do to streamline your tasks and use outside resources to create processes, the better off you will be. Here are 12 outstanding apps and resources that can help you do just that.
Planning and Forecasting
To run a successful startup, you have to have your eyes on the big picture as well as the little details. Planning and forecasting are a crucial part of making sure you stay on track.
1. Opstarts
Opstarts makes planning and forecasting simple by giving you a platform to track everything from the revenue your employees are bringing in to your expenses. You can use it to create plans for fundraising or to strategize and loop in your whole team to keep everyone on the same page.
2. Knowlium
Knowlium is a strategic planning and management software that can help startups plan for success. It’s a web app that guides you through the process of business discovery, planning and management and can be integrated with your accounting software to track your actual progress alongside your goals.
Hiring
You can’t run a stellar startup without an awesome team. These apps help connect you with talent in every arena.
3. Angel
Angel is a leading hiring site for startups. You can list your startup and the positions you have open, and Angel connects you with qualified leads.
4. Hired
Hired lets candidates create a profile and then matches them to the startups that best fit their skills and experience. You can set up interviews and do the hiring right through the site.
Community and Partnerships
The bigger your initial community, the easier it is to get word out about your startup and get the revenue stream flowing.
5. Partnered
Partnered pairs up some of the world’s leading brands and agencies, such as Coca-Cola, Nike and Red Bull, with innovative startups to create strategic partnerships that benefit both companies.
6. TeamStory
TeamStory is an app that allows startups to share their stories with a community of entrepreneurs, allowing them to meet and connect with founders from all over the world.
Receipts and Billing
Your startup needs a way to deal with billing as you grow. These apps make it extremely easy for you.
7. ChargeDesk
ChargeDesk is on a mission to make billing and billing support as easy and enjoyable as possible. You can make life easy for both your merchants and consumers by letting them handle the sticky stuff.
8. Invoiced
Invoiced handles your invoices by helping you look professional and earn faster than you could on your own. It can help handle subscriptions and payment reminders so you don’t have to deal with those headaches.
Benefits and Learning
Insurance is one of the biggest hassles that many startups have to face, but it’s incredibly important to your business. These apps help usher you through the process and also help you learn about building a startup as you go.
9. Founder Shield
Founder Shield was started to help take the stress out of buying insurance for startups. It offers a full suite of insurance products that can protect founders, investors and everyone else, and it can scale with you as you grow.
10. Elearn Hero
Elearn Hero offers courses on everything from sales and marketing to design and technology. It connects you with great entrepreneurs who have valuable wisdom to share from their own experience.
Graphics and Video
You can’t appeal to consumers without having a slick, professional image. Your content is important to the future of your company, and these resources can help you immensely.
11. Marvel
Marvel is an awesome tool for turning static mockups into interactive prototypes, no coding required. Killer features include multiple team creation and deep Dropbox integration.
Also try Invision, which we’ve featured several times before on our blog.
12. Dissolve
Dissolve is the site for grabbing stock video clips for every occasion. It can help you put together awesome video projects to showcase your company and products.
Bonus: Creative Market
Yep, excuse the blatant self-promotion, but the site you’re reading right now is a goldmine for your startup. Whether you’re looking for the perfect website theme, logo, or graphic, you can find the perfect solution that won’t break the bank.
What Else?
What other apps and services have you found indispensable for your startup? Leave a comment with some links below so we can check them out.
Time for another round of fresh resources, for the month of March. In this round of series, we have a budding browser, mockups for a device of the wearable kind, a collection of icons that can morph, and a handful of other cool stuff.
CodePad is a web app you can use to save and share codes. It supports multiple programming languages ranging from CSS to XSLT. You can set your code snippets to private access so only you can see it, or leave it publicly accessible, which also allows search engines to pick it up.
If picking a username when opening an account for any service online is hard for you, think of how hard it is for designers to come up with fake names as a content filler or placeholder in prototypes. UINames allows you to generate some random names – like Lorem Ipsum, but for people names instead. You can choose a name based on gender or even on countries (e.g. Japanese, Chinese, Vietnam).
The DevTools App is an application that allows you to debug your website. It works like the DevTools we can find in Chrome. This app is an experimental project to separate the DevTools from Chrome, which is a pretty rational idea since the majority of Chrome users won’t need or use DevTools – only Developers will.
Is.js is a handy tiny JavaScript library that allows you to run evaluation intuitively using the is method. You can test almost any data types including String, Array, Time, RegEx (Regular Expression), and even Environment.
The following code example will evaluate whether we are in Internet Explorer 6:
TheatrJS is a JavaScript library for creating typing effect, only unlike similar libraries, TheatrJS mimics how real humans type e.g. with a little delay, with typos, and correction.
TintUI is a collection of color palettes derived from multiple sources. Here you can find the colors that were used in iOS, Android Material Design or in Microsoft Windows. This tool makes it easy to pick the color, simply click on any color tile to copy the Hex format of that color.
Transformicons is a collection of common toggle buttons that will transform into something different when clicked. You can find the popular “hamburger” icons that will change into a cross mark icon or an arrow. Transformicons also provides the Build tool which you can use to generate HTML, CSS, and JavaScript only for the selected icons.
Vivaldi is a new browser built by the same team who built the early version of Opera with the Presto engine. Although Vivaldi is still in its infancy, it already ships with handy features like "Quick Commands" to customize navigational shortcuts, and Tab Stacks that group multiple tabs in a single tab. The development in ongoing, with more features to come like Mail and Extension support.
We already have mockups for desktops, tablets and smartphones, so it is only a matter of time before there are mockups for smartwatches. If you need mockups for the Apple Watch, this is the site to bookmark. You will also find mockups for iOS icons and the iPhone 6.
Slot Font is a uniquely designed font. It’s a rounded font with a half-circle ornament within. The font comes in OTF format, and it’s good to use as a poster heading. It’s free for use in both personal and commercial projects.
Freelancing is a journey for each of us and we learn and grow from the mistakes and errors that we make on the job. Learning from our mistakes is a crucial step in the journey to success.
“While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior" — Henry C. Link, author, psychologist.
Take my experience for instance. I do freelance work on the side, only seeking out projects when I need some extra cash. On one such instance, a client reached out to me for my help with a project. I threw myself in – without doing any research. A few hours into the project, I realized I had severely underestimated the scope of work. If I was lucky, I’d end up making pennies per hour on that flat-rate job.
By not thinking of my freelance work as a career, I was frittering away my time and skills. If I was going to do this freelance thing, I should do it right. The experience also made me wonder about what other freelancers did wrong when they were starting out so I interviewed various web designers and developers (who were super generous with their tips and insight) to get some much needed career advice. And, boy, did they deliver!
Paul Boag
Paul Boag (find him on Twitter) is a digital consultant and user experience designer. His first job was at IBM where he developed multimedia titles for their first ever multimedia PC (a PC with a sound card and CD-ROM drive). It was also when he was first introduced to the Web – web design was incredibly limited and creative work that’s available are given to the most junior staff member, which was Paul.
Paul shares three major mistakes he committed why launching his career.
I expected respect
"When I started out, I used to get frustrated when clients wouldn’t trust me to do my job. After all, I was the one that had studied design for three years. Why didn’t they just respect my opinion and implement my ideas?
As the years went by, I began to realize that respect has to be earned. I had to prove to my clients that my approach was the right one. I could not expect them to immediately accept everything I said before that trust had been built."
I thought I had all the answers
Another problem I had in the early days was the belief that I had the answers. I used to think my training and experience in the field ensured that I always knew the right approach to take. As I’ve got older and more experienced, I’ve come to realize there is very little I know for sure.
Instead, I tend to test the ideas I have and be much more open to hearing other people’s suggestions. I have learned that even a non-designer can have great ideas – the kind which I would have never thought of. I’ve also learned that no amount of experience replaces good usability testing.
I focused too much on creativity and originality
When I started out, I was obsessed with creating innovative, original design solutions. I didn’t want to blindly follow the crowd. Instead, I wanted to be a designer who was always producing original work and pushing the boundaries.
In some ways, there is nothing wrong with this approach. We cannot blindly follow what has gone before or presume that what other people are doing is correct. But change for change’s sake is bad, especially in interactive design.
Users like familiarity. This means conventions and best practices emerge over time and we are wise to conform to them. When a user expects to find navigation at the top or left of a website, it is not a good idea to put it at the bottom just to be original!
Casey Ark
Casey Ark, CEO of Plato Web Design started his career at the ripe ol’ age of 13 when a local gym owner asked Casey to design the business’s website. Casey barely knew what he was doing. The full extent of his knowledge consisted of two HTML tapes he’d borrowed from the library – and he was terrified. Somehow, he completed the site. The gym owner mentioned his services to other local businesses and things spread from there.
A lot of things happened between his teenage career launch and his current success and Casey reflects on three eye-opening experiences from his days as a design newbie.
I went to college
I was a bored, nerdy kid who discovered HTML in the 5th grade and never looked back. I went to college at Penn State’s Harrisburg, PA campus, but this did very little to prepare me for my current job. I’ve always felt that web designers need real on-the-job experience in order to succeed, and college just didn’t cut it.
I learned nothing about design or programming in school, and I wasted 4 years that I could’ve been growing my business. Instead, I taught myself (through the aid of some wonderful online resources like W3Schools.org, etc.).
If you’re looking to be a web designer, formal training can be costly and time-consuming. When there are so much great tutorials on the web, why bother?
Freelancing Made Me Fear Starting my own company
When I finally founded my company and started my team, I realized that it was far easier to gain quality clients. My advice to freelancers here: as someone who has both freelanced and run a design firm, starting a full-fledged design company is the way to go.
Freelancing is fun, hassle-free, and relatively easy, but you’ll always hit one major roadblock: it’s really difficult to find work. When you’re on your own, big companies tend not to take you seriously.
I would never correct a client when they were wrong
This is a critical mistake. Most business owners are coming to you to be their web expert. Your job is to tell them how the web really works, and offer gentle suggestions to match. You don’t need to shove anything down their throats, of course, but being a limp fish when it comes to freelancing will only serve to make your client think you know nothing.
Cory Simmons
Cory Simmons (find him on Twitter) had been working at fast food places, telemarketing centers and other less-than-desirable jobs for a while (even a short stint in the army) before asking his welfare worker to get him a job making websites. He secured a job at a local community college but still had to face eviction and homelessness and before the development of Jeet.
TutsPlus discovered his work and asked Cory to write a course for their readers. After completing his first assignment, he asked for more – and that’s where he is today. Here’s threemistakes he made, but you should not.
I had a big ego
The first big mistake I made was having an ego. I don’t care how good you are in your particular field, if you have ego, you’ll find out how expendable you are quickly. It doesn’t matter what your portfolio looks like or what awards you’ve won. No employer I’ve encountered put up with ego for very long.
I signed horrible contracts
At one point, I created a company and teamed up with a local developer and started sending out handwritten letters to local businesses. We didn’t see any response from these letters, but a local competitor noticed our business and hired both of us.
Shortly after being hired, we heard back from a few of those letters and had to hand over these new/huge clients as part of our non-compete. A few months later I was fired (because of my ego).
Always, always, read your contract and never think you’re desperate enough to sign a contract that says you can’t do design work within a 100-mile radius if you’re ever terminated. Always ask potential employers or clients to modify their contract or refuse to work with them.
I never got psychological help
The third and by far the biggest mistake I ever made was not getting real psychological help. I’ve had depression, bi-polar, and ADHD almost my entire life, and I feel like it’s always held me back. In high school, I was admitted to a psychiatric ward for depression because my teachers were so worried about my apathy.
I hated high school. A "horrible student" – I didn’t know if it was ADHD or just laziness – I never learned anything in a structured environment. I spent those years staying up all night learning how to program role-playing games – then sleeping throughout my classes. Never did homework. I dropped out of high school, and community college too after a few semesters.
I have problems finding the motivation to get out of bed, much less work 40 hours a week. I have problems learning how to be better at my job because I can’t retain information even if I read the same page four or five times.
If you have similar problems, it very well could be linked to a psychological defect and you might need some real help.
Jacob Cass
After graduating college, Jacob Cass packed up his Australian life and pursued a career opportunity in New York City. He currently maintains a very active freelance career while working full-time. Jacob maintains a blog and design studio, Just Creative, which is where he gets the majority of his clients via search and social media (Facebook and Twitter). He also provides daily logo design inspiration at Logo Of The Day.
While his current freelance career is flourishing, Jacob is aware of a couple of things that have made the journey more challenging.
I didn’t learn to code
In the context of web design, I think a big mistake was not learning to code. I still don’t know how to code properly. Sure, I can read and understand it but I can’t write it. I just don’t enjoy it, but those who can code have a leg up on me for sure.
I had to learn by trial and error
As far as business goes, being a designer requires you to wear many hats and this is something you can only learn with experience. Handling clients, writing proposals, winning business, selling your work all takes finessing and you have to make mistakes along the way to learn the best way to work your own business.
During college, Jarrod Wright worked as a production artist at a screen printing shop. After graduating, he tried to sell the idea of expanding the design portion of the business to the print shop owner, hoping he would be hired full time for it. The owner passed on the idea. Jarrod took it as a personal challenge. His career, in many ways, was launched by his desire to prove the print shop owner had made a mistake.
Essentially, Jarrod started Subtle Network when he walked out of the print shop door. Now, a graphic artist and online marketing consultant, Jarrod is the owner of Subtle Network Design & Marketing. You can follow him on Twitter.
Jarrod admits to three things that challenged him while launching his career.
I was too cheap
I think this is something a lot of designers struggle with. Asking -100 per hour seems like a lot at first. I made the mistake of quickly multiplying my hourly rate by the 40 hours in an average work week. It took me a long time to understand the concept of billable hours. I still occasionally doubt myself when sending invoices.
The thing is, however, that being cheap actually hurts you. The good clients will assume you don’t do quality work. You end up working twice as hard for difficult and ungrateful clients who don’t grant you an ounce of respect. Why should they? You are cheap.
It’s hard for most designers, myself included, to turn away work that doesn’t fall within our core competencies. I would accept jobs I had no idea how to complete based solely on my confidence that I could figure it out. I’ve heard the lie, “Sure, I can do that,” pass my lips more times than I can count.
Most times, I was able to work a miracle, but never for a profit. I think a smarter approach would have been to specialize and find partners with skillsets to complement my own.
I took things personally
It’s hard not to take rejection personally. Good designers put a lot of thought and effort into their design. It’s hard not to feel scorned when our creativity gets discarded. It’s been a challenge, but over the years I’ve worked hard at not giving a crap. The truth is that customers hate working with designers that fight with them about designs. At the end of the day, you’ll be a lot happier if you just do what clients ask.
Making Your Own Mistakes
Are you letting other freelancers make mistakes, become superior and get all the good clients while you hesitate and dwell on your inferiority? It’s time to make your own mistakes. These designers have made plenty of blunders – but they’ve all come out on top. You can too.
What’s the biggest struggle you’re dealing with right now? Let’s talk it out in the comment section.
Editor’s note: This post is written by Jessica Velasco for Hongkiat.com. Jessica loves unearthing the strangest, most outrageous tech ideas. You can follow her on Twitter.
Time for another round of fresh resources, for the month of March. In this round of series, we have a budding browser, mockups for a device of the wearable kind, a collection of icons that can morph, and a handful of other cool stuff.
CodePad is a web app you can use to save and share codes. It supports multiple programming languages ranging from CSS to XSLT. You can set your code snippets to private access so only you can see it, or leave it publicly accessible, which also allows search engines to pick it up.
If picking a username when opening an account for any service online is hard for you, think of how hard it is for designers to come up with fake names as a content filler or placeholder in prototypes. UINames allows you to generate some random names – like Lorem Ipsum, but for people names instead. You can choose a name based on gender or even on countries (e.g. Japanese, Chinese, Vietnam).
The DevTools App is an application that allows you to debug your website. It works like the DevTools we can find in Chrome. This app is an experimental project to separate the DevTools from Chrome, which is a pretty rational idea since the majority of Chrome users won’t need or use DevTools – only Developers will.
Is.js is a handy tiny JavaScript library that allows you to run evaluation intuitively using the is method. You can test almost any data types including String, Array, Time, RegEx (Regular Expression), and even Environment.
The following code example will evaluate whether we are in Internet Explorer 6:
var IE6 = is.ie(6) if ( IE6 ) // run function here
TheatrJS is a JavaScript library for creating typing effect, only unlike similar libraries, TheatrJS mimics how real humans type e.g. with a little delay, with typos, and correction.
TintUI is a collection of color palettes derived from multiple sources. Here you can find the colors that were used in iOS, Android Material Design or in Microsoft Windows. This tool makes it easy to pick the color, simply click on any color tile to copy the Hex format of that color.
Transformicons is a collection of common toggle buttons that will transform into something different when clicked. You can find the popular “hamburger” icons that will change into a cross mark icon or an arrow. Transformicons also provides the Build tool which you can use to generate HTML, CSS, and JavaScript only for the selected icons.
Vivaldi is a new browser built by the same team who built the early version of Opera with the Presto engine. Although Vivaldi is still in its infancy, it already ships with handy features like "Quick Commands" to customize navigational shortcuts, and Tab Stacks that group multiple tabs in a single tab. The development in ongoing, with more features to come like Mail and Extension support.
We already have mockups for desktops, tablets and smartphones, so it is only a matter of time before there are mockups for smartwatches. If you need mockups for the Apple Watch, this is the site to bookmark. You will also find mockups for iOS icons and the iPhone 6.
Slot Font is a uniquely designed font. It’s a rounded font with a half-circle ornament within. The font comes in OTF format, and it’s good to use as a poster heading. It’s free for use in both personal and commercial projects.
