Archive for year: 2018

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~3/MdA45-G7g4w/

Freelancers often find themselves wondering how to be more productive. They look into ways to do more work in the same amount of time or do the same amount of work in less time.

This frustration is often based on an inability to stay focused. Freelancers are not tied to strict schedules, nor do they work under the supervision.

An obvious solution is to become more disciplined. However, this piece of advice is about as useful as being told to “work smarter”. This is unless, of course, you’re given some direction on how to go about it.

The following three productivity techniques can turn things around for you. They’re easy to put into practice, and you can start today!

Productivity Technique #1: With Be Theme’s pre-built websites, you can finish a client’s website in 4 hours

Be Theme’s gallery of pre-built websites is not only impressive; at 300+ and counting, it’s the largest on the market. Not only can you find the right one to work within a matter of minutes, but you can install it with a single click.

You need not worry about writing code or building wireframes either. You just need to pick your pre-built website.

Be Theme’s powerful assortment of pre-built websites will allow you to build a website in 4 hours. How’s that for productivity?

Here’s what other freelancers have to say:

10 Be Theme pre-built designs you could use to build a functioning website in a matter of hours
Be Salmon

The large food presentation images are guaranteed to capture user attention, as is the customer’s testimonials section. Users also appreciate how the interactive menu assists navigation.

BeDetailings2

A bold, professional appearance featuring before and after images is what clients and users want to see in a website representing a niche of this type. The price listing for services encourages users to respond to a call for action.

BeMeeting

Features include a standard menu for events & meetings websites, and an eye-catching countdown clock. A “clean” design like this one, always supports a user’s need for easy navigation.

BeManicure

Luxurious imagery, soft design, and an overall feeling of elegance and professionalism is what can make any website serving this niche successful. The integrated eShop will impress the client, and is a real productivity booster for the designer.

BeDenim

Bold imagery & color combinations are used to attract and engage the audience this website is speaking to. Its intuitive icons that promote easy navigation, and the integrated eShop do the rest.

BeHipHop

A creative website serving a pop culture deserves a hip design like this one. The integrated video and audio player will keep users interested, and the section outlining concert and album release announcements ensures repeat visitors.

BeCafe2

It’s amazing how large images like this one inside the online menu can draw in customers. This pre-built website also features a photo gallery of the business, and an informative “About Us” page.

BeDrawing

This pre-built website’s key features contribute to the success of a creative business’s online presence. They include an impressive gallery, a presentation video, and a simple and clean design.

BeTraining

Important features in a website for this niche include an intuitive menu for an eLearning platform, the ability to easily navigate through an events calendar, and the use of large, attention-getting video thumbnails.

BeClinic2

A sharp, simple design like this one, is always a good design approach for this niche. It is easy to navigate and easy to find and read important information.

Productivity Technique #2: Be more flexible instead of forcing yourself into a strict schedule

Being more disciplined can make you more productive. Yet, taking a “nose-to-the-grindstone” approach can sometimes do more harm than good. Working to a schedule (something not always easy for a freelancer) has its good points, but it’s all too easy to overdo it.

As a freelancer, you can manage to be flexible in your workday activities. Like that, you’ll generally be better off, in terms of productivity.

What does “being flexible” mean?

When you’re working on a task and get stuck; take a break. Go outside for some fresh air; take your dog for a walk; enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend.

Your subconscious mind will continue to work your problem. It does a better job of it without your “conscious” interference. With this approach, you’re much more apt to experience those rewarding “Got it!” moments.

Being flexible can also mean working to a general to-do list, rather than an overly specific one. Make a list of what you want to get done, but not the steps you need to take on how to get things done. People have a greater tendency to get hung up on specific tasks than on more general ones. This can lead to frustration, and an inability to get anything done.

Productivity Technique #3: Calculate how much a lack of productivity can cost you every day

There is no doubt you are familiar with the saying that “time is money”. In fact, you can, without much effort, calculate how much a lack of productivity can cost you every day.

The hard way is to keep track of the time you spend on each of the tasks you work on a day. Doing so can hint at how productive you might be, but doesn’t tell you much about how you could be more productive.

A better approach is to keep track of those periods where you’re not being productive when you should be. For instance, when you find yourself procrastinating or wasting your time. This is what you need to know.

These non-productive periods are habits you’ve acquired that slow down the process. But, you can do something about. These do not include walking your dog or enjoying a cup of coffee, or taking a 15-minute break to clear your mind!

You might be working on an hourly fee basis or a fixed fee basis on an assignment. Either way, you can generally calculate the cost per hour you’re charging. Now, it’s simply a matter of adding up the times you’ve wasted rather than working. That will tell you what procrastinating or being non-productive is costing you!

Write that time down on a sticky note, and periodically update it. Like that, you can see the progress you’re making as you strive to become more productive.

Conclusion

These then, are 3 effective techniques you can use to increase your productivity. They will help you to improve yourself as a freelancing web designer:

Let Be Theme help you create websites in as little as 4 hours (or less)

Do not work to strictly-segmented schedules or detailed to-do lists. Instead, be more flexible in your approach to your work

Calculate how much procrastination is costing you. You’ll quickly become motivated to do something about it

What is the best part of these techniques? They don’t force you into a productivity-boosting stratagem. You are free to choose whichever path suits you or your lifestyle better.

Original Source: https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/evil-icons-svg-iconset/

With a name like Evil Icons, you might not be sure what to expect. But, the project is harmless and surprisingly useful! The Evil Icons pack offers an assortment of a few dozen icons in the line icon…

Visit hongkiat.com for full content.

Original Source: https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2018/01/whats-new-for-designers-january-2018/

Start 2018 by deleting some of those old tools from your computer that you never use in favor of some fresh, new options. While old favorites can be great for a while, there are so many great new elements out there that can streamline your workflow, or help add more creative spark to projects.

If we’ve missed something that you think should have been on the list, let us know in the comments. And if you know of a new app or resource that should be featured next month, tweet it to @carriecousins to be considered!

Let’s Enhance

Do you ever have an image that is just too small for what you need? Let’s Enhance is here to solve that problem. The free tool allows you to upload an image—just drag and drop—and it will remove JPEG artifacts and upscale by up to four times the original size without losing any quality. (And it actually works!) State of the art neural networks are used to help removed image noise and imagines missing details for images that look totally natural.

Design Principles

The open-source Design Principles project is a collection of resources that are the basis for good projects. According to the curator, “Design Principles help teams with decision making. A few simple principles or constructive questions will guide your team towards making appropriate decisions.” You can browse more than 1,000 principles and examples already in the database or submit your own.

Hexi-Flexi

Hexi-Flexi is an SCSS component built on the CSS grid layout that creates a lattice of hexagons. Without JavaScript, you can customize the number of shapes, cells and rows to fit your design or content. It also supports auto-populating backgrounds.

Snippetnote

Snippetnote is a note-taking app that allows you to copy snippets for later. You can copy private snippets and change the layout as needed. Notes are available offline and in a drag and drop interface that’s easy to use. The interface is streamlined and simple without ads or social prompts.

Manta

Manta is a simple invoice-building app for Mac, with sleek design and customizable templates. Users can drag and drop items in invoice fields, include an SVG logo for better printing, and export invoices to a PDF or email format. (Plus, it’s a totally free-to-use invoice tool if you are looking for a simple product to streamline billing, which can be great for freelancers.)

Sketch Elements

This free iOS user interface elements kit has everything you need for your next app project. The kit includes 35 screen designs, 45 icons and 175 symbols. Plus, every element can be further customized so that your project feels unique. The kit is made for Sketch 48 or later.

Minimalist Icons

Themeisle has a set of free, minimalist vector icons that you can download and use in a number of projects. Each icon comes in a line-drawn, colorless style with a variety of options. The pack includes more than 100 icons.

StatusTicker

Keep up with the status of critical services in one location. Get real-time notifications that you can see on screen or have them emailed or messaged to you. The ticker supports more than 145 services.

Instagram.css

Looking for Instagram-style images for your projects? Instagram.css is a complete set of Instagram filters in pure CSS.

Epic Spinners

These simple CSS-only loading animations are fun and functional. Just grab the code and you are ready to use them.

Buy Me a Coffee

It’s like Kickstarter for creatives. Buy Me a Coffee allows you to showcase work and ask supporters for a small donation to fund the project.

Keepflow

Keepflow is a team-based project management tool for design freelancers and agencies. Currently in pre-launch beta, the software is designed to help you onboard clients and then manage a project – from an information-gathering questionnaire to the final product.

Tutorial: Using SVG to Create a Duotone Effect

CSS-Tricks has an excellent new tutorial that helps you navigate the world of SVG and create a trendy design element at the same time. The tutorial breaks down how to create a duotone effect in both the traditional manner using Adobe Photoshop and with SVG filter effects.

Product Manual

Product Manual is a collection of resources that help you build and understand the process of creating great products. The website is packed with resources by category—you can also add your own—so that every project can start here.

One Year of Design

Pixels collected a pretty cool collection of great website designs from 2017 all in one place. The retrospective is a nice bit of design inspiration.

CopyChar

Need a special character? Rather than digging through typefaces or struggling to remember keyboard shortcuts, use CopyChar to click and add a special character right to your clipboard. Special character options include everything from letters and punctuation to math and numbers to symbols, arrows and emoji.

Dulcelin

Dulcelin is a simple script that’s available free for personal use. It has a nice structure that’s readable and comes with a set of 177 characters.

Kabrio

Kabrio is a fun sans serif with the added bonus of having multiple corner options for typeface styles. The alternate variant features slightly rounded corners, that become even more round in the soft variant. Abarth features cut corner for a more mechanical, cold look. Each variant has seven weights and italics.

Promova

Promova is a blocky sans serif that would make a nice display option for website projects. The typeface includes regular and italic styles with wide character sets. The type family includes upper-and lowercase letters and is highly readable.

Studio Gothic

Studio Gothic is a nice sans serif with a rounded feel. The free version includes Extra Bold Italic and the Alternative Regular variations. The pair have an extensive character set and would work nicely for a variety of project types.

Sunshine Reggae

Sunshine Reggae is a lowercase typeface with a brush-stroke handwriting style. The limited font includes just 26 lowercase characters without any extras or frills, but it can make a fun display option.

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Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/av9H–SKguQ/become-your-own-boss-with-freelance-mastery-bundle

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We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more.

Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at: deals@creativebloq.com.

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