One of the nice enhancement in HTML5 web form is being able to add placeholder text to input fields. Placeholder attribute allows you to display text in a form input when it is empty and when it is not focused (it clears the field on focus). This is a nifty feature, but it is not [...]…

Today it is my pleasure to have a quick interview with Jamie Kosoy who is the associate technical director of Big Spaceship. He is also one of the speakers at FITC Toronto which is coming up soon. In this interview, Jamie is going to tell you a bit about Big Spaceship and their workflow. He [...]…

After three and half years, I finally redesigned Web Designer Wall. I launched Web Designer Wall in August 2007 and haven’t made any changes since then. Today, I think it is about time to put the previous design in retirment. It is sad to let it go, but I think a redesign is a must because technology is different now (ie. HTML5, CSS3, media queries). So I’m going to highlight some of the features about this new design…

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One of the common problems we face when coding with float based layouts is that the wrapper container doesn’t expand to the height of the child floating elements. The typical solution to fix this is by adding an element with clear float after the floating elements or adding a clearfix to the wrapper. But did you know you can also use the overflow property to fix this problem? It’s not a new CSS trick either…

Once upon a time, grayscale image has to be manually converted in order to be displayed on the web. Now with HTML5 canvas, images can be manipulated into grayscale without having to use image editing software. I’ve put together a demo to show you how to use HTML5 & jQuery to dynamically clone color images into grayscale (see demo). Credits: thanks to Darcy Clarke (my Themify’s partner) for the jQuery and Javascript code…

As 2010 is wrapping up, it is about time do a sum up of the best sites that I’ve featured on Best Web Gallery. Again I’ve selected 50 sites from different categories: personal blog, commercial, agency, portfolio, and software. In 2010, CSS design is getting more interactive. People are using jQuery and CSS animation to add interaction in their design. More designers are using custom font faces…

Did you know that Adobe Photoshop is 20 years old and Illustrator has been around over 24 years? I’ve been using Photoshop since version 5 and Illustrator since version 8. It is amazing to see how they are progressively improving and adding more features. Now with vector features and 3D tools, Photoshop is no longer just an image editing tool. The same goes with Illustrator, Bristle Brushes were added to simulate bitmap drawing…

WebdesignerDepot is set to launch its new site next month located at MightyDeals.com. The new site will be offering amazing products (WordPress themes, Photoshop brushes, icons, fonts, etc.) and services at discounted prices. The ‘deals’ will run for only 24 or 48 hours and will be readily available for purchase right there from the site. MightyDeals will be offering 2 iPod Nanos 8 gb to 2 lucky WDW winners…

If you are looking for an unique way to brand your business card, then you’ve got to check this post. I’ve collected over 80 creative and unique business cards from different types of business. Some of them are visually appealling, some have fancy die cut, some are edible, and some are just crazy. The examples in this post proves that business cards don’t have to be printed on card stock in standard size…

I will be speaking at Future of Web Design this year. The event will take in New York City on November 15 to 17, 2010. Read the schedule page for more details on the workshops, conference, and speakers. My topic will be on WordPress theme design. I have a free conference ticket (courtesy of Carsonified) to give out. As usual, enter a comment in this post before Nov 2nd, 2010 for your chance to win a free ticket…

Last month I had the opportunity to speak at Frontend 2010 (hosted by IXD) in Oslo, Norway. My topic was about beautiful design. I talked about how you can make beautiful websites by putting the extra detail in it. As promised, here is the slide and brief recap about my presentation. I apologize for the delay. You may also download the slide at SlideShare.

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After the success of the first bundle, Bundle Hunt is back with even more treasures. For those who don’t know about Bundle Hunt, it is a collection of products for designers and developers sold at a discounted price. I’m happy that 3 of Themify’s themes are included in this bundle. I have 3 copies of the Bundle Hunt to giveaway for webdesignerwall readers. To enter this contest, simply enter a comment in this post before October 15, 2010…

Last week I talked about 960 Grid System is Getting Old. Surprisingly a lot of comments have been made. It seems like people are using 960gs because of the "golden ratio" — all numbers are even. I’m a designer, not a grid scientist. Why restrict your layout so that it can fit into this 960gs? A grid is supposed to help you in design, not to limit your creativity. The 978 grid, that I mentioned before, is not just about increasing the page width, but to loosen the gutter space so users can read it more comfortably…

For several years now the 960px grid system (960.gs) has been designers’ favorite pick to help structure and design web layouts. As screens and resolutions have gotten bigger, I’ve found that the 960 grid system does not always fit my needs. 20px gutters and only a 940px content area is a bit too small for the modern web. While designing Themify, I found a new grid layout that works quit well for designing in this day and age…

First, I would like to thank everybody for reading Web Designer Wall and following me (@nickla) on Twitter. Today, I have iPhone stickers to give out to my followers only. I will be giving out 20 iPhone stickers (sponsored by Sticker Mule) with my illustration printed on it . All you have to do is tweet a message to me. For example: "@nickla, I like the Koi or Peacock sticker"…

Flashloaded offers Flash components that help you to build cool Flash stuffs without having to code any Actionscript. The components are very easy to use and customize. Just drop the component on the stage, customize it via the parameter palette, and you are all set. In this contest, Flashloaded will be giving out 5 components. To participate, enter a comment along with the component that you like before Aug 27, 2010…

CSS2 allows you to specify stylesheet for specific media type such as screen or print. Now CSS3 makes it even more efficient by adding media queries. You can add expressions to media type to check for certain conditions and apply different stylesheets. For example, you can have one stylesheet for large displays and a different stylesheet specifically for mobile devices. It is quite powerful because it allows you to tailor to different resolutions and devices without changing the content…

I will be speaking at Frontend 2010 conference along with a big list of famous designers. The event will take place in Oslo, Norway on September 1st & 2nd, 2010. I have a last minute free ticket to give away. Enter a comment in this post before Aug 24, 2010 for your chance to win a free ticket. If you are buying the conference tickets, enter "WDW" coupon code to save 10% discount…

You may probably notice that I haven’t been updating Web Designer Wall for a while. I’ve been working very hard on a new project called Themify, a premium WordPress theme shop. It is a collaboration with Darcy Clarke, who is an amazing developer. Each theme is packed a framework and bunch of custom widgets. With the framework, you can apply theme settings, style everything, apply skins, and import/export the setting data…

I have a free FITC San Francisco to give away. To get it: you just need to enter a comment in this post before August 6, 2010 and the winner will be selected randomly. The event will take place in San Francisco between Aug 17th to 19th. If you are getting the tickets, use coupon code "wdwluv" to get 10% discount. For more information, visit the FITC website.

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For those of you who been reading my blog should be familiar with Zurb. They are the guys who created those fantastic web apps — Bounce, Notable, and Verify. If you read online tutorials a lot, you may have probably stumbled upon their Playground before where they post various CSS and Javascript tutorials. Today, I’m happy to have Zurb here at Web Designer Wall to talk about their team and work…

Some people hate it, some people love it, but undoubtedly it is preferred in a wide variety of situations, from banners and online videos to rich internet applications. I’m talking about Flash of course. Take the comic strip below as an example. It was animated with BannerSnack and output as a SWF file. Click to play it.

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Inspired by the CargoCollective and David DeSandro’s site, I asked my Twitter followers (@nickla) on how to do the scrollto posts with jQuery. Within a day, Ben Bodien of Neutron Creations sent back a quick demo on how to replicate the similar result with the ScrollTo plugin. The script finds your current view position and scroll to the next or previous post accordingly. Check out the demo to see what I’m talking about…

Guest Post by Lingo24

Web designers are a highly creative bunch. Whilst most will probably have a natural eye for what looks good and what doesn’t, experience is everything in the world of web design, and learning is a key part of the process en-route to the top. One of the fundamentals of any design – be it web or print – is that it’s the audience that counts, not you…

Typefaces are "top trumps"-style card pack contains 20 well known designers (yes, I’m included in the cards). For each designer, a typeface was selected to match their overall vibe. Each card is individually designed to reflect this vibe, supported typographically with the selected typeface. I have 10 sets to give away. For your chance to win a free set, simply enter a comment in this post before Jun 25th, 2010…

People mostly use either serif or sans-serif fonts and often miss out the handwritten fonts. They are as important as the main font classifications. I particularly like to use handwritten fonts to highlight significant items in screen captures. They add the personal touch in my design and also provide great typographic contrast. However, not all handwritten fonts are legible. I’ve put together a huge list of free handwritten and script fonts that work well…

Web Designer Wall is giving away 10,000 business cards sponsored by UPrinting. Uprinting has been in the industry for over 25 years. Check them out if you need printing services. Enter a comment in this post before June 18, 2010 for your chance to win 1,000 business card printing (full color both sides on quality card stock). This giveaway is limited to US residents only and you must be 18+ year old to enter…

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