Inspect Element - Web Design & Development Blog

A Look Back at the Best Redesigns of 2009

January 7th, 2010 — 28 Comments

With 2009 complete, we can take a good look back and realise that it was a great year for web design. It’s time to reflect and see what redesigns really were the best of the bunch from such a great year. While redesigning Inspect Element, I took the time to see what other sites had done to reinvent themselves and breathe new life into their projects. Here are just some fantastic examples from the last year and what makes them so great.

Fantastic Presentation Styles of Web Designers’ Portfolios

January 4th, 2010 — 26 Comments

Portfolios are an important part of a web designer’s job hunting arsenal. In most cases they are the only thing that a prospective client or employer have to decide if you are the right person they are looking for. More importantly, portfolios are extensions of our own work so don’t just think of them as dumb pages to show off your work. Treat your portfolio design as just another piece of your own work as they deserve to be.

This is something I’m currently researching myself as I start preliminary work into redesigning my own rather dull portfolio display so it would make sense to share my findings with you all.

New Year, New Design, New Motivation

January 4th, 2010 — 18 Comments

The first six months of Inspect Element have been great but it’s time to step it up a level. If you’ve been following Inspect Element lately, you’ll notice that everything looks new! Times have changed and the site was in desperate need of a redesign in order to grow and improve. Although saying that, I wanted to carry over the fundamentals from the previous design including keeping a minimalistic appearance to keep the focus on the content.

Back in the New Year, Happy Holidays!

December 24th, 2009 — 5 Comments

The first six months of Inspect Element have been amazing and before I launched it I didn’t think I would still be doing it but here we are and the important thing is that I’m still enjoying it. I firmly believe the work that I have put into Inspect Element has helped me become a better designer and will continue to improve my skills as time goes on.

I’ve decided to take a break until January 4th to recharge my batteries, spend time with my family and friends through Christmas and New Year, play some video games (Xbox Live GamerTag – KennySim) and make sure that Inspect Element returns in 2010 bigger and better than before.

Talking of better…

Wallpapers of the Week 28: Winter Spectacular

December 22nd, 2009 — 4 Comments

Build Working Concepts to Communicate your Ideas more Effectively

December 21st, 2009 — 11 Comments

The general convention in web design is to present static images of designs to clients but what happens when you have an idea that can’t be visually presented in this form? Perhaps it is some form of interaction or animation that can breathe extra life into the design.

Of course you could just explain your idea to the client but the problem here is they may not understand what you mean or have a hard time visualising it. The next step is to show them something similar on another site but there is still a disconnect from what you want the client to see and what they’re actually seeing.