Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/nlt7ljhOe5M/free-photoshop-brushes-11121140

The appeal of Photoshop brushes is that they save you time, enabling you to create your own unique work quickly and easily. Using the brushes that others have already created for you means that you don't need to create design elements from scratch, you simply need to select your favourite Photoshop brush and start creating. 

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If you're just starting out, the search for the perfect Photoshop brush may feel overwhelming as there's a huge spectrum available. Brushes range from those that mimic traditional medium such as pen and pencil to more experimental grunge and brushes to those that will help you achieve cloud and sun or even lightning effects, and help you recreate fur and grass. While Photoshop does ship with a set of brushes pre-installed, they only scratch the surface of what's possible with the brush engine.

To make things a bit clearer, we've split our selection into four categories to help you find the perfect Photoshop brush: 

Photoshop brushes for painting – for mimicking a traditional art effectNatural brushes – everything from hair to clouds, trees, fire and water effectsGrunge Photoshop brushes – for when you want a distressed or aged effectFantasy and comic brushes – including half-tone brushes and sparkle effects 

Whether you're using an older version of Photoshop or have recently joined Creative Cloud, you can grab the free Photoshop brush downloads below and start creating stunning design flourishes in your artwork. Please note that you need to double check the licence terms of any brush you are downloading and using.

Need some help getting started? You'll find lots of handy advice in our list of top Photoshop tutorials. If you're not sure that Photoshop is for you, see our list of the best Photoshop alternatives.

Photoshop brushes for painting
01. Photoshop and GIMP brushes

Get a range of textures with this freebie

Designer: Obsidian DawnUsage: Free for personal and commercial use but see termsDownload here

These Photoshop brushes are actually textures, meaning you can create some interesting effects that are…well… textured. They're great for backgrounds and for experimentation in general. Check the terms for all uses as you need to credit the artist. But if you cannot provide credit, then a commercial license is only $3. 

02. Abstract paintbrushes

Have fun with this messy brush set

Designer: Darrian LynxUsage: Free for non-commercial useDownload here

There are a range of options to explore in this abstract paintbrush set. It is totally free for non-commercial use and perfect for creating a bright, messy, modern paint effect. 

03. Wavenwater Photoshop brushes

This set features lots of options 

Designer: Michael GuimontUsage: Free for personal use (contact artist for commercial licence)Download here

This comprehensive set of Wavenwater Photoshop brushes comes from freelance concept artist and illustrator Michael Guimont. We haven't counted exactly how many brushes are included in this set, but there are lots of options to add serious flair to your artwork. 

04. Sakimichan – Photoshop Brushes for painting

These brushes work best at 70-100 percent opacity

Designer: SakimichanUsage: Free for commercial and personal useDownload here

Deviant Art member sakimichan has made 56 of her favourite custom Photoshop brushes for painting available to download for free in this big bundle. She recommends painting at 70-100 percent opacity with the pressure option on, and says that the brushes are already set up for this. 

05. Photoshop paintbrushes

Griffin is a pro illustrator and concept artist offering up the brushes he uses, for free

Designer: Aaron GriffinUsage: Free for commercial and personal useDownload here

Aaron Griffin is a self-taught illustrator and concept artist known especially for his figure paintings (his work even graced the cover of our sister magazine ImagineFX). He's generously offering up the Photoshop brushes he uses to create his digital paintings, free of charge. 

06. Free Photoshop brushes: Thick acrylic paint strokes

Quickly add authentic paint strokes to your work

Designer: Creative NerdsUsage: Free for commercial and personal useDownload here

The second instalment of a popular set of free Photoshop brushes from Creative Nerds, Thick Acrylic Paint Strokes volume 2 lets you quickly add an authentic paint effect to your illustrations. The brushes are free for both personal and commercial work – but you're not permitted to redistribute or modify them for resale.

07. Dry brush strokes for Photoshop

These brushes are amazingly detailed

Designer: Chris SpoonerUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Dry Brush Strokes are a set of 12 excellent free Photoshop brushes from Chris Spooner. These high-resolution dry brushes are fantastically detailed, bristly and texture-rich. Featuring wispy lines and detailed edges, they're perfect for roughing up your artwork or distressing your edges.

08. Free Photoshop brushes: dry brushes

The dry brushes are dynamic

Artist: Kirk WallaceUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Artist Kirk Wallace created these Dry Brush Photoshop brushes at home using ink and paper, and offers them to you for free. Perfect for creating rough, harsh textures, they're also dynamic – you can click and drag to span larger areas without getting an ugly repeat effect, or you can paint with them.

09. Free Photoshop brushes: spray paint

These brushes can add a distressed, street art look to your designs

Designer: Creative NerdsUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Creative Nerds is offering this spray paint effect Photoshop brush set completely free. The pack includes four high-res brushes (2500px each). Use them to add a distressed effect to your paintings.

10. Speedpainting set

Give the illusion of speedpainting with these free brushes

Artist: Darek ZabrockiUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Concept artist Darek Zabrocki created this speed painting set of brushes. The artist has worked for some of the biggest projects and companies in the fantasy art world, including Assassin's Creed, Magic: The Gathering and Halo Wars 2. He's generously offering the set of Photoshop brushes he uses for his speed paintings for free download.

Watercolour Photoshop brushes
11. Watercolour brushes # 2

Designer: Snezhana SwitzerUsage: Free for personal use Download here

This extensive pack of watercolour Photoshop brushes is by Snezhana Switzer. It contains 40 Photoshop brushes, perfect for mimicking watercolours. If you like what you see, you can purchase her even bigger pack on Creative Market. 

12. Furry watercolour Photoshop brush

Soften things up with this choice of brush

Designer: HeygreyUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

If you're looking to create a soft, hazy aesthetic in your work, try this free furry watercolour Photoshop brush from Heygrey. It is described as a 'furry watercolour brush', and the creator suggests using it to create hazy backgrounds. We're especially impressed with the realistic watercolour effect that has been achieved here.

13. Watercolour Photoshop brush: spray

The creator says this brush was a pleasure to create

Designer: Creative NerdsUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This large-scale watercolour spray Photoshop brush is handy for creating a watercolour spray effect in your digital artwork. The creator has achieved an impressively authentic effect, which you can apply to your own artwork with ease.

14. Watercolour splatter: free Photoshop brushes

There are 32 high-res brushes in the pack

Designer: pstutorialswsUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

These watercolour splatters were created with the help of professional-quality watercolour paint on cold press watercolour paper. There are 32 high-res Photoshop bushes in the pack – they work with Photoshop 7, CS, CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5, CS6 and CC – and you can download the lot for free.

Pen, ink, charcoal and pencil Photoshop brushes 
15. Free Photoshop illustration brush set

Designer: Matt HeathUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This set of free Photoshop brushes was created by designer Matt Heath using an 8B Staedtler pencil and custom settings giving a natural feel and wide variety of textures. These are available from Heath's Gumroad page – simply enter $0 to get them for free, donations are of course appreciated, and if you want more you can get a huge set of art brushes right here.

16. Ink brushes

Featuring big slabs, thin strokes, ink splotches and everything in between 

Designer: Brittney Murphy Usage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Introducing designer Brittney Murphy's set of ink Photoshop brushes. Among the impressive 192 brushes included in the set, you'll find big slabs, thin strokes, ink splotches and everything in between. Murphy generously offers these brushes for free, with no attribution necessary, however, she does ask that they're not redistributed.

17. Pencil Photoshop brush

This brush is one of the most realistic out there

Designer: AndantoniusUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Create the effect of a soft pencil sketch, but without the grubby hands and smudged paper. This pencil-effect Photoshop brush is one of the most realistic we've seen, and you can download it for free on DeviantArt, courtesy of professional digital artist Andantonius, aka Jon Neimeister.

18. Realistic charcoal Photoshop brush

Avoid the mess but keep the effect with this digital charcoal

Designer: WojtekFusUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Charcoal's an essential part of any artist's toolkit, but it's undoubtedly the messiest as well. Get those soft charcoal lines – without getting charcoal all over your hands and everything else – with these excellent charcoal brushes.

19. Real markers: free Photoshop brushes

Designer: Eilert JanßenUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Perfect for fashion illustrations, industrial design and storyboarding, this set of 12 free real marker brushes by Eilert Janßen enables you to create lively imagery that looks like it's been sketched out with marker pens. If you like what you see, you can buy more of Janßen's brushes on his website.

Next page: Natural brushes

On this page of our ultimate free Photoshop brushes collection, you’ll find a wide range of natural and nature-inspired resources to add realism and depth to your artwork. 

From Photoshop brushes to help you draw people (think: hair, skin and eyelashes) to brushes for drawing weather (cloud Photoshop brushes, snow, rain and lightening), landscapes (trees, grass, flowers) and water, you’ll find nearly every nature-inspired brush you can think of on this page. And the best part? These Photoshop brushes are all free.

Photoshop brushes for hair and fur
20. Hair brush set

Mix these brushes together to create more variety 

Designer: para-vineUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Create realistic hair effects with this set of free Photoshop hair brushes. Mix them together for extra variety and to create different effects. This set comes courtesy of digital artist para-vine, aka Lee Alex Pearce. Please credit the artist where possible.

21. Fur brushes

Create fur with these brushes

Designer: NathieUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

These brushes will help you to create realistic fur for your projects. The designer asks that you do not redistribute them, though you are free to use them in your commercial and personal projects.

Skin Photoshop brushes
22. 11 Human skin Photoshop brushes

These are great for retouching and make-up

Designer: env1roUsage: Free for personal use; contact env1ro about commercial useDownload here

There are 11 texture-like tools in this collection of free Photoshop brushes for painting human skin. Polish artist env1ro, who created them, says they’re compatible with Photoshop PS7 and upwards, and they’re "great for retouching and make-up". 

23. Skin Photoshop brushes

This set of brushes is created by an artist who specialises in portraits

Designer: Marta DahligUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Freelance Polish artist and illustrator Marta Dahlig has been creating digital brushes for years. She specialises in portraits, and her set of skin Photoshop brushes is an amazing boost to any digital artist's armoury.

24. Eyelash Photoshop brushes

These eyelash brushes are at different stages of open and closed

Designer: eriikaaUsage: Free for personal and commercial use with a creditDownload here

DeviantArt user eriikaa has shared 22 free Photoshop brushes for drawing eyelashes at different stages of the eyes being open or closed. She asks for a credit if you use them, and to let her know if – and how – you use them. 

Weather and cloud Photoshop brushes
25. Cloud Photoshop brushes

If you need some help with creating clouds, these brushes are for you

Designer: HelenartathomeUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

A collection of crisp clean cloud brushes that will fulfil your cloud brush needs. The set comes with 14 high-res cloud brushes and two rays and sunbursts are included. Ideal for adding more detail to a scene.

26. High res sunshine Photoshop brushes

These high-res brushes are ideal for web projects

Designer: ArtistmefUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This set of 15 high quality photorealistic sunshine effect brushes will add natural and realistic light to help illuminate a scene . These hi-res brushes have a resolution of 2500px, making them ideal for both print and web projects. 

27. Snow Photoshop brushes

Designer: BrusheezyUsage: Free for personal and commercial use, with a creditDownload here

These snow brushes will add a chill to your designs with a flurry. This pack of free Photoshop brushes contains 15 effects, which you can mix up to create realistic variation in your scene. Again, make sure you follow the attribution instructions on the download page if you use them commercially.

28. Rain Photoshop brushes

There are four brushes in this set

Designer: amorphisssUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Rain is notoriously tricky to draw and paint. That’s where these fantastic free rain Photoshop brushes from Deviant Art user amorphisss come in. There are four brushes in this set, and for each you can determine which way the rain is falling, and use the Motion Blur filter to emphasise the motion effect. 

29. Lightning strikes Photoshop brushes

Electrify the viewer with these lightening strikes

Designer: SparkleStockUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Electrify your work with this collection of stunning lightning strikes. Tileable and available not only as Photoshop brushes but also as patterns and JPEG images, there are 18 to choose from in this set – all free.

Landscape Photoshop brushes
30. Plant Photoshop brushes

Remember to credit the owner if you use this set of brushes

Designer: B SilviaUsage: Free for personal and commercial use, with creditDownload here

Want to create beautiful plants with ease? This set of 23 high resolution plant Photoshop brushes from graphic designer and illustrator B Silvia will help you do just that. These are free for both personal and commercial use, but please remember to credit the owner.  

31. Tree borders Photoshop brushes

These brushes are perfect for trees
Designer: ForestGirlUsage: Free for personal use onlyDownload here

This is a nice set of Photoshop brushes that enable you to introduce tree and bush silhouettes to the edges of your composition. DeviantArt user ForestGirl, aka Julia Popova, asks for a link to any personal work you use them in.

32. Leaf brushes

This set features seven isolated leaf images

Designer: jschillUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Great for creating organic textured background, this set of high resolution leaf Photoshop brushes is awesome for drawing leaves and features seven isolated leaf images with intricate details and textures. They're free for personal and commercial use but make sure you attribute them according to the Creative Commons guidelines – you'll find full details on the Brusheezy site. 

33. Grass or fur brushes

Changing the colours transforms the grass into fur

Designer: s1088Usage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This set of 10 grass or fur brushes is ideal for adding grassy details to your Photoshop paintings. There's a variety of styles to choose from, so you can create everything from scrubby dry patches of grass to lush meadows. A bonus tip from the creator is that if you switch up the colours, they also make great fur. 

34. Nature silhouettes Photoshop brushes

There are 19 free nature Photoshop brushes in this pack
Designer: pinkonheadUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This is a really useful set of 19 different nature silhouettes, each featuring a different plant, ranging from trees to grasses. They're free for personal and commercial use, but the designer says that any references back to her website would be highly appreciated.

35. Environment brushes

Deck out your environment

Designer: SyntetycUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This massive set of free environment Photoshop brushes should have you covered for all your environment painting needs. All are high-res, and all are specifically suited for creating realistic natural environments in Photoshop.

Water Photoshop brushes
36. Water brushes vol. 4

The creator has three other sets of brushes to check out as well

Designer: Webdesigner LabUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

There are 20 high-res water Photoshop brushes in this pack, including splashes, spills, ripples and water drops. Compatible with Photoshop CS3 and above, these realistic water tools aren't the only free Photoshop brushes released by this designer. He also has three other popular sets of water effect brushes, so if you can't find what you want in this pack, check out the others using the link above. 

Assorted effects
37. Smoke brushes

The creator has added some fabulous examples of what these brushes can do

Designer: Niño BatitisUsage: Free for personal useDownload here

Including 13 high quality Photoshop smoke brushes, these will make a great addition to any designer's toolkit. Designer Niño Batitis is the man behind this set of smoking hot Photoshop brushes. 

38. Feathers and birds

Create detailed feather effects with this set of brushes

Designer: DiscopadaUsage: Free for personal and commercial use, with a creditDownload here

There’s a total of 12 individual Photoshop brushes for drawing birds and feather effects in this pack from DeviantArt user Discopada. Each brush comes with a stand-alone piece of artwork, ranging from detailed feather illustrations to whimsical birds-on-a-branch.

39. Tie-dye Photoshop brushes

Add a splash of tie dye to your work

Designer: Diego SanchezUsage: Various, see licensing rulesDownload here

These brushes are tricky to categorise, but we've put them in the natural category to reflect their hippy vibes. The 15 brushes are based on real tie dye shapes with a mix of solid and transparent areas. We think they'd make fun backgrounds for all sorts of projects.

40. Simple fabric brushes

Use these brushes for natural surfacing

Designer: BitboxUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Straightforward fabric textures, these free fabric Photoshop brushes are high resolution (2500×2500) – so they're great for use in both print and web. You can use them to add some natural surfacing to your work. 

Next page: Grunge Photoshop brushes

On this page of our ultimate collection of free Photoshop brushes, you’ll find the best free grunge brushes the internet has to offer. You can use these brushes to add age, depth and distressed effects to your artwork.

41. Rough paint strokes

Designer: Creative NerdsUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

If you're looking for a rough paint stroke, these brilliant grunge Photoshop brushes from Creative Nerds should do the trick. They're high res and free to download, and can be used for personal and commercial work. You'll need to subscribe to Creative Nerds to access them. 

42. Shattered glass

You can fully customise the shattered glass effect

Designer: UCreativeUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This set consists of 12 free, high-resolution (2500px x 2500px) and high-quality Photoshop brushes for creating an intricate shattered glass effect. They're easy to customise – you can edit the opacity, blending modes or mask out different parts of the brushes to create textured effects.

43. Distressed halftone brush strokes

Perfect for when you can’t decide between a halftone or distressed brushstroke

Designer: Designer CandiesUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

If you can't decide between a distressed brush stroke and a halftone brush stroke, why not have both? This set of 21 Photoshop brushes is perfect for adding a vintage, worn or retro effect to your work.

44. Mixergraph Grunge Brushes

Designer: Marc PallàsUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Handmade, digitised and individually edited by Marc Pallàs, this set of five grunge brushes will transform your illustrations and designs with a gloriously rough-and-ready look, making them seem like they're hot off the photocopier.

45. Sponge party

The sponge textures are beautiful

Designer: MelissaUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Sponge party is a collection of eight medium-resolution Photoshop brushes that include some beautiful textures. including some excellent sponge brush marks – great for adding timbre to collage work.

46. Scorched and burned

There are 10 different designs to choose from

Designer: WeGraphicsUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Scorched and burned is another great set of brushes from WeGraphics. This pack features realistic scorch and burn effects in 10 different designs. You can use them directly to create burn marks, or in a more abstract way to distress your artwork. 

47. Scar face

Add scarring to portraits

Designer: NatalieHijaziUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Scar face is a collection of 12 textured Photoshop brushes that is ideal if you want to introduce some scarring to portraits. But you can also use them simply to generate beautifully textured background elements, and add age and depth to your work.

48. Grunge and smooth floral brushes

Designer: KeepWaitingUsage: Free for personal useDownload here

This is great set of crisp, clean mixed-media grunge and smooth Photoshop brushes with a grungy floral theme. Created in Photoshop 7, the brushes range in size from 800px to 100px wide. DeviantArt member KeepWaiting says they're free for non-commercial use only.

49. Antique postcards

A great starting point for further design work

Designer: BitBoxUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This wonderful collection of six hi-res antique postcard designs provides an excellent starting point for further design work. Each brush can be used as a template, and features text and a delightful patina.

50. Spray splatter

Spray splatter includes 12 spray patterns

Designer: Dimitar TsankovUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This is a brilliant collection of 12 spray splatter Photoshop brushes that, happily, are high-res at 2500px each. This set features a range of spray patterns suitable for generating dirty backgrounds and textures, or bringing typography to life.

Next page: Sci-fi and comic brushes

Whether you’re looking for free Photoshop brushes to add a fantasy, sci-fi or comic book-inspired effect to your work, we’ve got you covered here. Scroll down for our favourite star Photoshop brushes, particle effects, blood, halftones and more.

51. Dust particle brushes

Great for creating a fantasy effect

Designer: Nathan BrownUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This is a really useful set of dust particle brushes. They can be used to add instant sparkle, depth and richness to your designs, and are ideal for creating a fantasy effect.

52. Dynamic light brushes

This set creates a great special light effect

Designer: Nathan BrownUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Create special lighting effects by using these Dynamic light brushes in combination with layer blending modes such as screen or vivid light.

53. Star brushes

The artist wants you to have fun with these star brushes

Designer: DemosthenesVoiceUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Here are six high-resolution star Photoshop brushes from DeviantArt member DemosthenesVoice, aka Austin Pickrell. "Just have fun," says the artist. "I would love to see what people do with them… and if you make millions from your piece, I want a helicopter."

54. Stardust brushes

Follow the attribution instructions from the website

Designer: BrusheezyUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

This set of 20 Photoshop Stardust brushes will add a sprinkle of diffused light orbs and bring a Disney-esque magic sparkle to your work. These hi-res brushes can be used for personal and commercial work, just make sure you follow the instructions on the site for giving attribution.

55. Night sky brushes

Use stars, moons and space dust

Designer: WebdesignerLabUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

These Night Sky Photoshop brushes includes 13 different night sky elements, including space dust, stars and moons. They're particularly good for fantasy scenes or adding sparkle to your artwork.

56. Magic spells

The 21 brushes have a moon theme

Designer: TreehouseCharmsUsage: Free for personal and commercial use, with a creditDownload here

DeviantArt member TreehouseCharms created Magic Spells. This is a quirky set of 21 Photoshop brushes, each related to an overall moon theme and featuring a mythological bias. They're great for adding some whimsy to your designs, or accenting original illustrations. Donations are appreciated.

57. Fairy tales brush set

Create an other-worldly fantasy

Designer: raysheafUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

Fairy Tales is a useful collection of fractal renders at up to 2500px, gathered together under the theme of fairy tales due to their other-worldly appearance. These free Photoshop brushes are suitable for quickly creating fantasy backgrounds and textures like rocks, cave and catacomb walls and alien metals.

58. Blood drip brushes

Incorporate drips, drops, splats or spurts

Designer: Falln-BrushesUsage: Free for personal use, with credit and a linkDownload here

These mildly gory blood drip brushes are perfect for comic-style horror and murderous artwork. So whether you're incorporating drips, drops, splats or spurts, you should find something to your liking here – and they're free in return for a credit and a link.

59. Blood splatter Photoshop brush

Includes a range of large-scale brushes

Designer: AnnFrost-stockUsage: Free for personal use, with creditDownload here

Add a splash of gore to your digital paintings with this free blood splatter Photoshop brush set. It includes a range of different large-scale brushes you can use to incorporate realistic blood stains into your designs. They're free for personal use, or $10 for commercial use.

60. Circular halftone brush set

This set is great for comic book designs

Designer: CreativeNerdsUsage: Free for personal and commercial useDownload here

If you're painting comic art, this free halftone circular brush set will come in handy: you can use it for comic-style shading in your designs. This high-res brush collection can be used for commercial and personal projects. You'll need to subscribe to access these Photoshop brushes.

61. Sketchy cartography brushes

The pack includes mountains, buildings and trees

Designer: StarRavenUsage: Free for personal use; ask permission for commercial useDownload here

Create a Hobbit-style map with these sketchy cartography Photoshop brushes from DeviantArt user StarRaven. The pack includes mountains, buildings, trees, grasses and a range of symbols. As well as a brush file, the download includes a transparent PNG file containing all the images. 

62. Concept art brush pack

These brushes are ideal for creating sci-fi and fantasy worlds

Designer: SoldatNordskenUsage: Free for non-commercial useDownload here

This collection of concept art brushes is perfect for all sorts of design work. It's ideal for game and film concept art, matte painting, album cover artwork, fantasy art and much more, and includes textures, vegetation, rocks and particles.

Related articles:

How to Photoshop someone into a pictureAll the Photoshop shortcuts you need to knowThe best Photoshop plugins

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/abduzeedo/~3/SgaLVE5AIqc/designer-spotlight-micah-lanier

Designer Spotlight: Micah Lanier

abduzeedoApr 02, 2020

Times are definitely changing, the bull market which was one of the longest is over and we are all heading to a global recession. I know this sounds super grim, but in order to help everyone to promote their work, we will start featuring designers from all over the world in a series we call Designer Spotlight. For this one bring to you the amazing work of Micah Lanier. 

Micah Lanier is a product designer, illustrator and branding expert. He is based in Nashville and you can check out more of his amazing work at:

https://dribbble.com/micahlanier
http://studiomicah.com
https://www.instagram.com/micahlanier/
Designer spotlight

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~3/chTf_UKZPEU/

Figma is a super effective interface design app that is browser-based and offers a wide range of features to explore. It’s useful for a number of different situations but really shines for use in any sort of collaborative design project setting. With Figma, you can manage every aspect of a project from start to finish by utilizing its included vector tools. With these tools, you can create illustrations, prototypes, code, and more. And though Figma comes “pre-stocked” with many features, there are tons of Figma plugins you can use to add on even more features and functionality options.

Here, we’ll explore over 10 of our favorite Figma plugin finds so you can approach your next project with greater ease.

The UX Designer Toolbox

Unlimited Downloads: 500,000+ Wireframe & UX Templates, UI Kits & Design Assets
Starting at only $16.50 per month!

DOWNLOAD NOW

Master

The Master Figma plugin is a fantastic option for those looking to create a component out of a set of objects. You can add any number of objects you want, too.

Avatars

Avatars is a fun addition. It works by allowing you to add random user avatars to your designs quickly and easily. The avatars are all aggregated from various sources, so you’ll have plenty of variety in the results as well.

Random Name Generator

Another great option is the Random Name Generator plugin. This one allows you to select layers and then run the plugin to populate them with names that have been randomly generated. You can select from first name, last name, full name, and gender options as well.

Unsplash

Unsplash is another great Figma plugin. As its name would suggest, it allows you to insert images directly from Unsplash, the stock photo website, without having to leave Figma to do so.

Google Sheets Sync

Though not officially associated with Google, this Figma plugin allows you to sync information and content from Google Sheets directly into your Figma projects.

Content Reel

You might also want to check out Content Reel, which makes it super easy to add content to any layout you create. With it, you can pull text strings, icons, and avatars straight into your designs.

Design Lint

Design Lint is another plugin option. This one allows you to find and fix errors in designs quickly. It works by identifying missing styles with just a single click. It applies to all layers, too.

Charts

Charts is another Figma plugin worth checking out. It makes it easy to create charts that you can add to your Figma files. You can select from many different chart styles, including area, pie, line, scatter, bar, and doughnut.

Color Blind

Color Blind is still another plugin worth taking a look at. This one is ideal for testing your designs for accessibility. With a click, you can view any design you create as those with eight different types of color vision deficiencies would view them. This makes it much easier to identify problems and correct them.

SPELLL

SPELLL is a Figma plugin that adds spell checking capabilities to this tool. It checks your file in real-time and identifies spelling errors readily.

SmoothShadow

SmoothShadow is super simple but that’s what makes it so great. With it, you can add shadows to elements within your files with just a few clicks. You can tweak the settings for greater curves, blur, offset, and more.

Similayer

Last on our list is the Similayer plugin. This one wins with the built-in “Select all with…” command by allowing you to select similar layers within an expanded range of properties like text styles, fill color, and more.

Use These Figma Plugins and Improve Your Workflow

Before you work on your next Figma project, it might be a good idea to check out some of the plugins available to see if any might simplify your workflow. That’s the intention of this list, anyway. Hopefully at least one of these Figma plugins suits your needs and will help to improve your projects in the future. Best of luck!

Original Source: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2020/03/web-design-trend-popular/

What Should You Do When A Web Design Trend Becomes Too Popular?

What Should You Do When A Web Design Trend Becomes Too Popular?

Suzanne Scacca

2020-03-31T11:30:00+00:00
2020-03-31T21:06:37+00:00

I read an interesting article on Forbes recently about language saturation. Here’s the problem:

Consumers don’t always understand the technicalities of what businesses do or the solutions they’ve created for them. So, copywriters use jargon that translates something like “Internet-connected devices with computing capabilities” into “smartphones”, “smart watches” and “smart speakers”.

Some of these buzzwords spread like wildfire and it soon becomes impossible to find a brand or website that doesn’t use them. When that happens, the words — and the associated product or service — become meaningless in the minds of consumers because everyone is saying the same thing.

The same thing happens when design trends become too popular. This is something Vitaly Friedman talked about last year with regards to cookie consent notices and banner blindness.

But what choice do you have? Are you supposed to hop on the design bandwagon anyway so your website doesn’t get left behind? Today, we’re going to look at what your options are.

What Should You Do with Too-Popular Design Trends?

To be clear, I’m not suggesting that you ignore any and all rising design trends.

There are certain trends that we absolutely need to adopt across the board. Like minimalism and mobile-first design. When there’s substantial, quantifiable proof that a design technique is needed, please don’t ignore it.

What I’m talking about are design trends that aren’t aimed at strengthening the web. Instead, they’re solely about driving up engagement on websites.

Brutalism. Facebook Messenger pop-ups. Home page hero sliders. The second that popular websites begin to adopt these trends and once writers and designers start including them in design trend roundups, it’s only a matter of months before consumers are inundated with them. And this is when banner blindness kicks in.

So, what are your options when you learn about a new design trend that promises big results?

Option 1: Ignore It and Stick with What Works

There are a few reasons you should consider going with this option:

You work on short-term website projects.

For those of you who build websites, hand them over to clients and then wish them luck as you move onto the next, it’s probably not a good idea to play around with fad-like design trends.

You know how quickly design trends change, so why put your client in a position where they have a website with an outdated design? One of three things is going to happen:

They’ll leave the outdated feature as is and have no idea that it’s costing them conversions.
They’ll ask you for help in removing the feature not too long after launch and won’t be happy about needing a rework so soon.
They’ll ask another designer for help because they’re upset you put them in this less than ideal position.

Unless your client has a very good reason why they need to exploit a passing design trend, try to dissuade them from it. If they understand the fleeting nature of some of these trends, as well as how banner blindness develops from oversaturation, they should be onboard with you sticking to what works.

You’re designing (or redesigning) a site for a very well-established company.

When building a website for a company that has a long-standing reputation with its audience as well as a tried-and-true formula for success, adopting a passing trend could be risky.

Take Zillow, for example.

The homepage for Zillow on mobile (Image source: Zillow) (Large preview)

This is the mobile homepage as it stands today. It’s simple, sleek and intuitive by nature.

Can you imagine what would happen if the designer decided to add a video background to the hero banner? Or to interrupt the property browsing experience with a pop-up advertising a free ebook download?

You have to really think about what disruptions to the expected design would do to the flow of things. So, when building something for a brand that’s known for its consistency and convenience, it’s best to ignore passing trends.

This doesn’t mean that a website like this shouldn’t be redesigned. Like I said before, lasting design “trends” can’t be ignored as they enable us to move websites in the right direction (like responsive design). For example, this was Zillow in 2017:

The mobile homepage for the Zillow website in 2017 (Image source: Zillow) (Large preview)

See how far we’ve come in terms of making websites mobile responsive and mobile-first in just a few years? These are the kinds of popular changes that don’t require debating.

The company’s goal is to build relationships; not to increase sales.

I realize that every website needs conversions in order to survive. However, many business models can’t sustain with just one-off sales. It costs too much money to constantly market to new customers, which is why some businesses focus on building long-term relationships with their customer base.

And that’s why you need to steer clear of conversion-boosting design trends on these kinds of websites.

Take, for instance, Gary Vaynerchuk’s website:

The mobile website for Gary Vaynerchuk is free of passing design trends and elements. (Source: Gary Vaynerchuk) (Large preview)

Remember when every website seemed to have a pop-up containing two buttons — one of which would be super-positive like “Yes, I want to change my life!” and the other which was meant to shame the visitor with something like “No, I like living in squalor.”

How do you think Vaynerchuk’s always-growing loyal following would feel if the site displayed one of those pop-ups? Not only would they be annoyed by the disruption keeping them from the content, but they’d probably be upset that he’d use such a shameless ploy to bully them into signing up.

If the brand you’re building a website for is on a similar mission — to build long-lasting and meaningful relationships — you don’t want to sully that with bad design decisions.

Option 2: Adopt the Trend But Keep an Eye on Market Saturation

Patrick Ward, the author of the Forbes article mentioned above, explained that many writers in the fintech space have had to pivot towards a simpler style of writing:

“At first, new startups used jargon and buzzwords to highlight their brand new tech and give themselves a competitive edge.”

I think this is a good lesson for designers as well. It’s not always a bad thing to hop on a design trend’s bandwagon — especially if it’s proven to work and it’s still in the very early stages of public awareness.

So, while there are clear cases where it makes sense to avoid design fads, I think there are times when it makes sense to take advantage of them. The only thing is, you can’t just implement the design and then leave it be.

For instance, this is the 15 Finches website on desktop:

A walk-through of the animation on the 15 Finches website on desktop. (Source: 15 Finches) (Large preview)

Now let’s compare this same animated experience to what users get on their mobile devices:

A walk-through of the 15 Finches website on mobile with layering errors and no animation. (Source: 15 Finches)(Large preview)

There are a number of design choices made on this mobile site that should’ve been long phased out.

The vertical typography in the background should go. It might add texture to the desktop site, but it’s just a confusing distraction on mobile.
The animation on the desktop site doesn’t translate to mobile. To present visitors with a consistent experience, the designer should commit to mobile-first design.
There are also layering errors all over the mobile site, with text often covering other bits of text as well as missing call-to-action buttons.

As I said, there are some sites where it’s okay to adopt short-term design trends. Just keep an eye on them.

For example, the Hubspot site design is always changing, but any design trends it adopts never seem to overstay their welcome. Hubspot tends to cut out just before they become too much. And that’s a key thing to remember.

Hubspot’s mobile site continues to use a chatbot widget to guide prospective customers in the right direction. (Image ource: Hubspot) (Large preview)

As you can see, the mobile site still uses a chatbot widget. For a business that sells sales and marketing software, it’s an important element to retain even if other sites have since ditched theirs.

That said, I’m positive that Hubspot keeps close tabs on its user data so it probably has confirmation that the element continues to work well. This is just one of the things you should be mindful of when monitoring a trend.

If you want to utilize popular design trends, you need to be in it for the long haul with your clients. That way, the second you start to notice:

Oversaturation in the market,
The trend has gone completely stale,
Or your users aren’t responding positively to it.

You can immediately move the website to safer ground.

Option 3: Go in a Similar But Different Direction

When a design technique or element immediately and universally becomes popular, there’s more value to it than just its ability to increase conversions or create a prettier design.

Take a look at why it’s caught on the way it has. If you understand what’s driving the popularity of the fad, you can leverage the strongest parts of it, make it your own and have something with real staying power.

Do you remember the New York Times’ Snow Fall article in 2012? This was shortly after parallax scrolling started to pick up speed in web design. And despite some websites utilizing the trend, it was the way the NYT creatively integrated it along with interactive and animated images that really blew people away — so much so that it won a number of journalism awards for it.

Notice that the NYT didn’t try to redesign its website with parallax scrolling or interactivity. It took the basic principles gaining in popularity and applied it to one groundbreaking story. By considering how the trend could be best used for maximum impact, the NYT turned a short-term fad into something that would make its story memorable.

If you understand what’s driving the popularity of the fad, you can leverage the strongest parts of it, make it your own and have something with real staying power.

“

Let’s take a look at a more recent example of a site using this approach.

You’re all familiar with the trend of split-screen design, right? It worked really well on desktop, both in its static form as well as when one half of the screen would remain put while the other moved. But on mobile? It wasn’t so great.

While we’ve seen a lot of split screen designs get phased out, EngineThemes has made the trend its own:

EngineThemes has put a playful twist on the once-trendy split screen design. (Source: EngineThemes) (Large preview)

Upon entering the site, it’s a look we’re familiar with as consumers. But it doesn’t take long to realize that this is going to be a different experience.

For starters, the bobbing bird and red double-headed arrow are something you don’t see much of, if at all, on other sites. I can’t imagine many visitors scroll past this banner without engaging with it.

Secondly, there are no words in this banner on mobile. (There are on the desktop website.)

One of the reasons why this design trend doesn’t work anymore is because it can’t be used on mobile sites — there just isn’t enough space to split the screen and fit enough words in there. Or is there?

EngineThemes has hidden a message in its animated, split screen graphic. (Image source: EngineThemes) (Large preview)

Eagle-eyed visitors will notice that there’s a message carefully hidden in the bird graphic when the arrow is moved to the right. Granted, the text should be bigger, but mobile visitors can zoom in if they’re struggling to read it.

It’s a string of code that reads:

“EngineThemes provides effective business solutions with simple and powerful WordPress app themes.”

But do you see what I mean? When a design trend suddenly becomes popular — for a short or long while, too — it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to use the same exact version of it like everyone else. This is why oversaturation quickly turns once great-looking websites stale.

By taking what’s so innovative about a design trend and making it your own, though, you can give the trend real staying power while making your site a standout in the process.

Wrapping Up

When we overdo it by leveraging the same design trends as everyone else, we put our websites at risk of becoming redundant or, worse, invisible. So, how do we establish a cutting edge if we can’t make use of design “jargon”?

The truth is, there’s no one clear-cut answer. You need to be able to read the room, so to speak, and figure out which approach is best for you. You could leave the passing trend alone, you could adopt it temporarily or you could make it your own.

Further Reading on SmashingMag:

What Does A Foldable Web Actually Mean?
Table Design Patterns On The Web
Designing The Perfect Slider
Bottom Navigation Pattern On Mobile Web Pages: A Better Alternative?

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Original Source: https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2020/03/bublup-the-cloud-reimagined/

Since mankind first crawled out of its cave, looked at a block of stone, and wondered if it wouldn’t roll better if it were round, human beings have been looking at technology and trying to make it better.

Almost every tech you can think of, from digital music players, to cryptocurrency, to search engines, may well be revolutionary in their first incarnation, but only go on to change the world once they’ve been reimagined with the kinks worked out.

however you want to store your stuff online, you can do it with Bublup

Now, Bublup (pronounced Bubble-up) is reimagining the cloud, one of the mainstays of modern computing, by reinventing not just the technology that powers the cloud, but how we use it in our daily lives.

One of the biggest problems with the cloud is that no matter who supplies it, it is structured and organized in a way that suits the cloud supplier; photos go in your photos folder, notes go in your documents folder or a notebook, links go in your bookmarks folder. Bublup is different, Bublup lets you organize your content however you want to. You can even mix and match media types in the same folder. So, unlike some cloud providers you can store links with photos, notes in with videos, PDFs in with MP3s; however you want to store your stuff online, you can do it with Bublup.

It’s this flexibility that makes Bublup one of the most intuitive ways to save and share plans, memories, ideas, and projects. Imagine you’re planning a trip to your dream destination next year, instead of keeping all your research across a dozen different folders, with Bublup you can store everything in one place — your flight details, reservations, your itinerary, maps, places you want to eat, things you want to see, guidebooks – everything you’ll need for the trip of a lifetime. The same goes for work projects, sharing family photos, meal planning, and more.

You can even use Bublup for work collaboration

Bublup makes your folders private by default, so you don’t have to worry about anyone taking your files without your permission. But one of the best features of Bublup, and one we know you’re going to want to check out, is its collaboration options. You can invite anyone to join your folder, and work on it together by commenting and reacting on items or folders. It’s an awesome way to build up content from a whole group of people.

You can even use Bublup for work collaboration. Just create a folder for your project and invite your team to join you. Store emails, briefing notes, assets, contracts, everything for your current project in a single, secure location.

One of the key benefits of Bublup is that everything is organized visually, with big thumbnails and titles, so you never have to hunt around for the file you’re looking for, it’s always right in front of you and easy to find.

Perhaps our favorite Bublup feature is “rolls”. Rolls are beautifully presented stories built from the contents of your folder in just a few clicks. Upload your vacation photos and videos to Bublup, and then in seconds create a story that captures the event perfectly. Best of all, rolls can be shared with anyone – they don’t even need a Bublup account – just build your roll and share it with a single link. It’s the perfect way of sharing vacation memories, or keeping in touch with family.

Something we know everyone will love is Bublup’s suggestion engine. This awesome tool seeks out fresh content for you, helping you discover ideas you didn’t even know were out there. It’s an incredibly useful option when you’re researching. Let’s say you’re planning that dream trip, wouldn’t it be great to get the best tips on places to eat, stay, and enjoy from locals and leading sites on the web? Bublup’s suggestion engine will search them all out for you, you can choose to add them to your folder, or ignore them, it’s completely up to you!

The best thing about Bublup is that it’s easy to use. You don’t need to be an expert to get the most out of this tool. It’s so easy to use even complete novices will be up to speed in minutes, and it’s the perfect solution for everything from staying in touch with family and friends, to collaborating with colleagues on professional projects.

Incredibly, Bublup’s standard plan is free, with 3 GB of storage for files and unlimited links, and all features except the most advanced roll features. If you discover that Bublup is the right tool for you then keep using the standard plan for free, or upgrade to a paid plan from just $2.99 per month. Head over to bublup.com now to start organizing your content the way it suits you.

 

[– This is a sponsored post on behalf of Bublup –]

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