Original Source: https://inspiredm.com/brizy-review-visual-page-building-reinforced/

Meta: This Brizy Page Builder review covers everything you need to know about the WordPress plugin, with focus on how it would potentially impact your business.

Well, of course, we love WordPress for its usability, and most importantly, its wide array of third-party plugins optimized for pretty much everything to do with websites.

Come to think of it, we could spend a fortnight comparing different plugin categories, debating about the most essential one. However, if you’re honest, you’d acknowledge that nothing comes close to web design plugins especially when it comes to ecommerce sites.

Consider this. The first impression visitors have of your website is 94% related to its overall design. That’s according to a study conducted by Northumbria and Sheffield Universities. The University of Surrey, on the other hand, released a separate report revealing that users’ assessment of your business’ credibility is 75% based on the website design.

And that explains why a well-designed web interface is capable of boosting your standard conversion rate by 200 to 400%.Design comes first before other supplementary site elements pick up from there to optimize the conversion process.

That’s why I’ve always been crazy about web building plugins. Leveraging good ones is one way to lay a solid foundation for a seamless experience with other plugins and site elements.

That said, I’ll admit that I’ve used quite a couple of extremely effective plugins in this space. But, as expected, I’ve also seen my fair share of poor ones.

Above everything, I’ve always found it exciting to try out the newest entrants. Mostly because some of them come out with all guns blazing. They are seemingly never shy to challenge even established competitors with trendy, exciting features at comparatively cheap rates.

And that’s how I was quick to notice Brizy Page Builder. A new kid on the block, but certainly one of the most notable entrants.

So, what exactly does it come with? And is it any different from its predecessors?

Well, let’s find out. This Brizy Page Builder review covers everything you need to know about the WordPress plugin, with focus on how it would potentially impact your business.

Brizy Page Builder Overview

Barely two months ago, in May, was Brizy launched as a page builder for WordPress-based sites. It was essentially developed to eliminate all the coding mumbo-jumbo, and consequently help users design and set up web pages without hiring developers.

Now, let me take a wild guess here. I assume you’ve heard that same description numerous times by now. So many that it has almost grown into a cliché.

Of course, it’s understandable that you might be thinking “another page builder?” What does Brizy gain from a space that’s already seeing a steady influx of tools on a regular basis?

Well, according to the team behind Brizy, it turns out that it’s not just a standard page builder. They acknowledge that indeed there are tons of page builders out there, but claim that Brizy will change your entire perception of visual page editors.

Top on the list of things its creators boast is a new revolutionary approach, which simplifies the whole editing process by availing only the tools that matter. Through Brizy, they also attempted to do away with what they call restrictive design elements.  Instead, the tool now supports extensive customization to empower site owners to do exactly what they want.

Now that only scratches the surface. There are loads of other features its developers say you’ll not see in other page builders.

Sounds impressive, right? Well, to be fair, this could possibly be marketing fluff to set the ball rolling. But then again, get this. Over the past couple of weeks, Brizy has grown to well over 100,000 downloads with a corresponding active user base of more than 20,000.

To top it off, the company is right on the verge of launching a whole new version of the tool- Brizy Pro.

Now that’s not a bad run. Quite remarkable as a matter of fact.

But are its features worth the hype?

Let’s take a closer look…

Brizy Page Builder Reviews: Features
Premium Themes

A bland outlook is one way to approach your page design, especially if you believe that graphics could be distracting.

But, let’s look at facts here. Going by research conducted by Adobe, 38% of your traffic will bounce off immediately your store’s website loads without appealing imagery or layout.

To help you entice your users, Brizy has outsourced theme designing to the real experts- Themefuse. This renowned group of professionals has designed a wide range of attractive and elegant premium themes, which are principally available on Brizy Pro.

And to avoid distracting users, the templates come with simple, clutter-free layouts. They are sleek, with minimalistic arrangements to help site visitors navigate around without any problems.

Clean Interface

While it might be exciting to see a wide range of editing tools when you’re working on a web page, let’s face it. Even for extremely complex pages with dynamic elements, you’ll only be able to use a limited number of tools at a time. Consequently making the rest redundant and bothersome.

Brizy addresses this problem by eliminating the crowd of editing tools we’ve seen with the bulk of other page builders.

However, make no mistake about it. The tools are not abolished completely.  Instead, Brizy avails only what you need for the specific task at hand, and hides the redundant options.

The result? Well, apart from a well-streamlined editing process, you get to enjoy a smart, clean interface.

Extensive Design Elements

Availing only the necessary editing options is quite commendable. But, admittedly, the subsequent clean editing interface could get you worried that Brizy might have very limited design elements.

Well, could that be the case with this WordPress plugin?

To comprehensively assess Brizy’s capabilities, I went beyond the standard options. I tried creating a web page with multiple elements, all dynamically linked within a single interface.

Thankfully, Brizy systematically provided a wide range of elements to design just the right page. In addition to maps, Brizy supports videos, icons, images, buttons, text, and many more.

Among its provisions is over 4,000 different icons, available in both Glyph and Outline versions. It also offers more than 150 pre-made page design blocks, which can be conveniently added to your web page to set its structure.

Recently, its creators further introduced entrance animations to the whole editing package.  You can now take advantage of more than 40 animation types to create an intuitive scrolling experience.

That said, here’s the kicker. While Brizy has covered all the fundamental design elements, it’s fairly limited when it comes to advanced elements. But the silver lining is the fact that the team behind it continues to improve the editing environment with additional web page design elements.

Global Customization

Embedding all those elements with their default parameters would ideally shorten the page building procedure. But, it would also result in a boring, unappealing web page. Different pages would possibly share more or less the same outlook.

Since every site is unique in its own way, Brizy found it critical to expand its editing options to facilitate extensive customization. That way, you can comfortably adopt your entire website to the specific business branding strategy.

But, how does this work exactly?

Brizy essentially allows you to adjust multiple aspects and parameters of the individual page elements. When you need to set positions within the page, for instance, you could capitalize on the intuitive drag and drop feature. It helps you conveniently move the elements to their desired position by simply choosing, clicking, dragging and dropping them anywhere within the page.

If the columns seem to be disproportionate, you could resize them by moving a mid-handle. You might especially find the corresponding percentage values displayed up top quite handy in ensuring accuracy.

And guess what? Customizing the columns doesn’t affect the content. Everything simply readjusts to adapt to the new dimensions.

And speaking of content, Brizy also comes with a smart text editor, which is optimized for changing text alignments, fonts, and colors. You can also extend the color scheme to the rest of the page layout with a single click to edit template properties.

And you know what? You’re free to be creative and experiment with multiple design options. You can always click to undo or redo any edit.

Mobile Optimization

A typical internet user today is pretty versatile. A report by Adobe revealed that 83% of customers worldwide, on average, surf on multiple screens using 2.23 devices at the same time.

Yes, you’re dead right. This includes smartphones and mobile tablets.

As a matter of fact, users love their mobile devices so much, that 74% of them say that they may never attempt to revisit a site if they found it to be poorly optimized for mobile surfing. I guess our addiction to surfing on-the-go might have everything to do with this widespread preference.

Now, one thing’s for sure. Such entitlement by internet users is not going anywhere. Quite simply adapt your site or go home.

Fortunately, Brizy provides a Mobile View mode with just the right tools to optimize your web page for mobile devices. Shifting to this window allows you to design all the elements for smaller screens.

Brizy Page Builder Reviews: Pricing

You’ll love this.

At the moment, all these features are available for free. You’re not going to pay even a dime to leverage them.

Developers are working now on an extended version (Brizy Pro) that will offer much more features aimed at web professionals and marketers.

What you are buying now is a pre sale for the Pro version, but the catch is that this is a one time payment only, lifetime deal. Once the Pro is out, the lifetime will be gone and you’ll pay yearly.

Brizy Pro

Brizy Pro is basically standard Brizy on steroids. According to the developing team, some of the additional features it will introduce include:

A/B Testing- You’ll be able to review and compare two distinct versions of the same web page with varying parameters.
Advance Forms-While the free version supports standard forms, Brizy Pro supports advanced forms with additional design options.
Role Manager-This allows you to set access and editing privileges for different parties you’ll be collaborating with.
Pop-up Builder- To boost your conversion rate, the pop-up builder facilitates the design and setup of call-to-action windows, pop-up banners, and more.
Third-Party Integration- Brizy Pro will support the following third-party services; Drip, SendGrid, AutoPilot, Mailer (Lite), HubSpot, Zapier, Unsplash, Salesforce, AWeber, MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, TypeKit, plus more.

Who Should Consider Using Brizy Page Builder?

To recap, here are the crucial takeaways:

Top on the list of things Brizy’s creators boast is a new revolutionary approach, which simplifies the whole editing process by availing only the tools that matter.
Over the past couple of weeks, Brizy has grown to well over 100,000 downloads with a corresponding active user base of more than 20,000.
Developers are working on a parallel version, Brizy Pro, which will offer much more features at a price. If you’re interested, you could pay $247 for a lifetime package of Brizy Pro once it launches.

Going by the current provisions, Brizy is quite decent for personal projects and basic websites. It can also suffice for small businesses and startups, but only for non-sales web pages.

Heavier users with high business ambitions have no choice, but to hang on until Brizy Pro is ultimately launched. And from the few features that have been leaked, I have to say that we expect it to make a substantial impact in the WordPress page building space.

For now, paying for the lifetime package seems like a pretty safe bet. Especially considering the fact that Brizy’s developers have already proven what they are capable of over the long haul.

Otherwise, let’s wait and see how it pans out. And maybe, I might hit you with a comprehensive Brizy Pro review in the near future.

The post Brizy Review: Visual Page Building Reinforced appeared first on Inspired Magazine.

Original Source: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2018/07/smashingconf-videos-web-fonts-performance/

Webfonts And Performance: SmashingConf Videos

Webfonts And Performance: SmashingConf Videos

The Smashing Editorial

2018-07-20T14:35:35+02:00
2018-07-20T15:29:44+00:00

Webfonts are difficult to get right. An often overlooked and disruptive piece of web performance, webfonts can slow down your site and leave your visitors confused and agitated. No one wants agitated visitors.

Webfonts Are ▢▢▢ Rocket Science

Recorded at our special web performance themed SmashingConf in London, Zach Leatherman demystifies webfonts in order that we can avoid font-related performance issues. He takes us through a detailed guide to best practices when using webfonts, so you can use beautiful fonts without sacrificing performance. If you have ever asked, “What is the best way to load webfonts?” then you need to hear this talk. Zach breaks down the various approaches in a straightforward way, so you should feel able to make the best decisions for your own use of webfonts.

In addition to this video, you can take a look at Zach’s “Comprehensive Guide To Font Loading Strategies,” and subscribe to his newsletter fontspeed.io.

Fontastic Web Performance

Another great introduction to font loading was made by Monica Dinculescu at SmashingConf Barcelona. She spoke about which new platform features are here to help us deliver pretty (but also!) fast experiences to everyone.

In her talk, Monica also mentions the following resources — in addition to Zach’s work:

“Type is Your Right,” by Helen Holmes
“Minimising Font Downloads,” by Jake Archibald
Type With Pride
Axis Praxis
Fontastic

We also find Monca’s Font Style Matcher tool really useful, helping you find a font that matches your webfont closely to prevent a jarring shift between the sizes.

Enjoyed listening to these talks? There are many more SmashingConf videos on Vimeo, and we’re getting ready for the upcoming SmashingConf in New York — see you there? 😉

With so much happening on the web, what should we really pay attention to? At SmashingConf New York 2018 ?? we’ll explore everything from PWAs, font loading best practices, web performance and eCommerce UX optimization, to refactoring CSS, design workflows and convincing your clients. With Sarah Drasner, Dan Mall, Sara Soueidan, Jason Grigsby, and many other speakers. Oct 23–24.

Check the speakers →

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Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/lJs3xgqCqa8/free-resume-templates-111517854

There isn't always time to craft your creative resume from scratch. If you're facing a tight deadline, one option is to get ahead by choosing a free resume template and customising it into a bespoke design.

We've had a search around and found these striking free resume templates, each of which offers something a little different. Download one of these templates and wing your way to a job interview for the role or client of your dreams.

01. Material design resume

Turn heads with a resume that has an irresistible dash of Material Design cool

For a stand-out resume with an on-trend look, this template, inspired by Google's Material Design framework, is a shoe-in. It includes areas for professional profile, work experience, education, skill circles, skill bars, social media icons and images, and it's supplied in A4-size format for Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. It uses free fonts, and if you'd like a covering letter and portfolio template to go with your resume, there's a premium version that also includes new colour options plus matching business card templates and custom icons.

02. Stylish infographic resume

Why not tell your career story with a swish infographic?

Want to get all your relevant information across in an eye-friendly, graphical way? Why, you'll be wanting some kind of infographic, then! And this stylish template by Federica Procaccino delivers just that, enabling you to get your message across on a single page without overwhelming everyone with text.

03. Creative resume

Give yourself a colourful leg-up with attention-grabbing template

Catch any potential employer's eye with this fun one-page template. It's ready to edit in just about any package you care to imagine, it has plenty of room for all the important bullet points that you'll want people to know about, and the colourful splashes along the edges mean that it won't get lost among a pile of other applicants.

04. Modern resume

Edit this template in Illustrator to make it your own

If you know your way around Adobe Illustrator and don't mind getting your hands dirty, then this template is prefect for producing a great-looking resume that you can customise to your personal taste. You can either use it as-is, changing the text and adding a photograph, or you can spend time editing the colours and tweaking the layout until you have something that more accurately reflects your personality.

05. YA resume

Whether you’re a graphic designer or a sea captain, this template will see you right

Created by Indonesian graphic designer Angga Baskara, this elegant template covers all the bases with three sections – a main CV info page featuring eye-catching progress bars to illustrate your main skills, a covering letter and a portfolio section where you can add a selection of your work in the form of images and short descriptions.

06. Graphical resume

Fay Zodiac’s template is bold

This resume template by Fay Zodiac isn't one for the faint-hearted. Its bold letterpress-styled icons, patterns and text certainly pack a punch, and will ensure your CV jumps out from the pile. You'll just need the confidence in the job interview to back up your loud resume design. It comes with the fonts and icons, as well as the Photoshop resume template, and is fully editable.

07. Colourful resume

Riccardo Rivieccio’s template comes with matching business cards

As any designer knows, colour sells. Riccardo Rivieccio's free resume templates come in a choice of six colour schemes with attention-grabbing patterns in the header. And to further sweeten the deal, he's also designed matching business cards. These Illustrator files are fully editable, too, so have fun with colour.

08. Creative Vintage Resume

This wonderfully retro template comes in gorgeous earthtones

This is a splendidly vintage-looking resume template in deliciously earthy tones, and it comes as an .AI file so that you can adjust it to your heart's content. Be aware, though, that the fonts aren't included, so you'll either have to hunt them down yourself (they're all free fonts, luckily) or substitute your own.

09. Creative Designer Resume Template

Make an instant impression with this visually-focused template

Fully layered and well organised to keep customisation nice and easy, this bold and punchy visual template enables you to get yourself and your skills across quickly, without any messing around. It comes as a print-ready 300dpi A4 PSD, ready for editing in Photoshop.

10. Project-based resume

A centre-aligned layout with space for images

Depending on the type of application process you're dealing with, it may be appropriate to include samples of your work within your CV. This template, Velli, is great if you have images of visual work that you'd like to form part of your resume, and there's also space for a cover letter. 

11. Two-column layout

A two-tone layout with two columns

Fitting a lot of information onto your first page can help to a grab a recruiter's attention, and a two-column layout is a good way to achieve that without making your page look cluttered. 

12. Timeline resume

Create a good first impression with this free timeline resume template

This free timeline-based resume template was created by graphic designer Patryk Korycki. An AI file, the design features typeface Open Sans, with various fields available to enter education details, skills, interests and much more.

13. Stylish resume

A stylish resume template that includes a timeline of your employment history

This subtle yet stylish CV template features all the details you need to include, along with a neat sidebar holding a profile and references and a timeline – in which you can list your employment history. There’s also an online profile section to show just how social media-savvy you are and a software skills bar graph so you can show your exact skills. It’s supplied in PSD, AI and INDD formats.

14. Resume for icon fans

This resume template has some super-stylised icons included

If icons are your thing, check out this free template from designer Fernando Báez. A sectionalised design, complete with stylish type and icons included (you get the CV in AI format and the icons in PSD), this resume is perfect for customising with your own icons to represent your interests and achievements.

15. Resume for type fans

A central typographic column enables you to list your skills

Sure, this may not be to everyone's taste – but it's certainly impactful. A central typographic column bursts out to boxes in which you can add your details. The resume is supplied in AI format so you can easily export a PDF – and comes in black and white so you can get creative with colours.

16. Simple resume

This simple resume template uses colour

Simplicity is the key in this type-based CV that puts your profile at the top, then lists experience and education in simple boxes. There's also a professional skills section enabling you to give yourself a percentage score on languages and professional skills. The Illustrator file makes the most of colour to aid its simplicity.

17. Clean resume

The Smart Object header makes it a cinch to add your own graphic to this resume

This highly customisable resume template comes in PSD and AI formats, and has a Smart Object header, meaning you can quickly and easily link in an image of your choice. It's A4, 300dpi, with 3mm bleed – so completely print-ready. Just add your logo, bio, experience and so on, and you're ready to print and send.

18. Hadi Reda

Super-minimal with a neat icon style, this resume is ace for designers

Keep it super-minimal with this resume template. Once again there's a bar graph for your skills (which we're still not sure about but some employers may like) along with a neat icon style to represent your social media profiles and software competence. It's supplied in layered PSD format.

19. Resume that makes a statement

It’s definitely worth experimenting with this contemporary resume template by Paolo Pettigiani

Maybe you’re looking to make more of a statement with your one-pager – in which case this typographic template by Paolo Pettigiani may be just the ticket. Easy to customise and available in AI format with all the necessary fonts and icons, it’s definitely worth experimenting with.

Related articles:

10 beautiful paper portfolios to inspire you30 brilliantly creative resumes5 quick ways to improve your portfolio dramatically

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/jpYun4xTn2s/10-ace-design-magazines-to-add-to-your-reading-list

Design magazines have a number of functions: they let you know what's going on in the industry, inspire you, offer advice you can apply to your own design portfolio, provide you with insights from design superstars, go behind the scenes on the biggest and most experimental design projects – all that stuff. But design magazines are also obliged to look dead cool while artfully stacked up on your coffee table.

We've picked out a selection of design magazines from around the world; titles with the best writing and photography, the coolest designs, and the top production values. We looked at big-selling design magazines that have been around for decades, and smaller, independent titles that dare to be different.

Wallpaper*

For interiors inspo, Wallpaper* can’t be beaten

The first of our heavyweight titles is Wallpaper*: 'the world's most important design and lifestyle magazine brand’. The monthly mag has readers in 100 countries, the majority employed in the creative industries, so it covers design from around the world in all its forms. You might see a story about Frida Kahlo next to one about Paris Fashion Week, something on wearable football kits beside a piece about a new bar in Buenos Aires. It's no good for Photoshop tips, but can't be beaten for #apartmentgoals. 

Computer Arts

For practical advice, you can’t beat Computer Arts

Whatever stage of your career you're at – student or studio boss – Computer Arts is a cornerstone magazine. The monthly title champions graphic design, branding and illustration. It interviews the world's best studios and individual designers, but also regularly celebrates fresh new talent. The magazine goes behind the scenes on big projects to see how they're put together.

It's one of our sister magazines, so we're a little biased, but where Computer Arts really comes into own is with career tips and advice: how to upgrade your skills, tips for making it as a freelancer, and what to do if you decide to quit your job. 

The covers always look super-smart too. A particular highlight is Computer Arts' annual cover design competition, run in association with D&AD New Blood. It's a chance for fledgling designers to show off their skills, and for industry pros to take a look at the best upcoming talent. You can see 2018's winning entry on the issue on sale now. Pick up a copy to check out the full shortlist, or check out last year's winners.

Creative Review

CR has been running since 1980

Our final big title is Creative Review: 'We celebrate the work that matters. And we dig into how and why it gets made. We challenge and champion the industry we love.' Since 1980, the title has been covering all quarters of the creative industries – not just art and design but advertising, film and TV, too. It interviews big-name creatives and analyses high-profile projects, looks at how things are made and why, inspires you to go and make your own stuff, and offers practical advice on how to run your own studio. 

Eye

Eye has great coffee table appeal

Eye calls itself 'the world’s most beautiful and collectable graphic design journal' – and it might just be. Aside from always having a killer front cover (this is definitely one to leave artfully stacked on the coffee table), the quarterly magazine offers some of the best writing around on design and 'visual culture' in general. For a taste of what to expect, a recent issue includes stories on Estonian design, the anatomy of a magazine, and an interview with the design director at the New York Times. Eye also does some pretty good student subscription deals. 

99U

99U is made by Adobe, so you know you’re in safe hands

Another one of the best-looking magazines around is 99U. It’s aimed at everyone from designers and engineers to educators, marketers, artists and CEOs: ‘If you approach your work creatively, 99U’s goal is to help you find the inspiration to build an incredible career'. It's made by Adobe so you know you're in safe hands. The current quarterly issue covers Pentagram's Natasha Jen, an insider's tour of Berlin, and 10 designers sharing how they upset the status quo – firing their best client, good stuff like that.

Communication Arts

This US-focused mag is aimed at creative professionals

Communication Arts covers design, illustration, typography and photography, as well as advertising and interactive fields. It's US-focused and is for people in the industry more than general hobbyists. The bimonthly magazine is at its best when interviewing designers and design studios – the Surrealist photographer from Portland; the experimental marketing agency in San Francisco – about the work they make. 

The Great Discontent

TGD specialises in longform, in-depth interviews

The Great Discontent started out online but it's definitely even better in print. The title specialises in big, proper, longform interviews – in the tradition of literary magazine the Paris Review – with artists, writers, graphic designers, photographers… people from all corners of the arts. You even get the odd musician. It attracts big names like Michael Bierut and Stefan Sagmeister, but the detailed mix of biography and practical advice makes every interview worth your time. The magazine itself is quality, too – and is available in hardcover, as a magazine, or as a travel-sized version.

B magazine 

Each issue of B focuses entirely on one specific company

Strictly speaking, B isn't a design magazine. Instead, each bimonthly issue focuses on one specific company, and the 'untold stories behind a brand … its sentiment and culture.' It's a good mix too: there are companies like Netflix, Airbnb and Google, alongside notebook-maker Moleskine, footwear specialist Danner, and outdoor clothing brand Patagonia. 

Patagonia, for example, based in California, lets its people to go surfing when the waves are up, and make up the time later. The system apparently increases productivity. It's this level of detail that makes the magazine a good read for studio bosses or anyone interested in brand marketing and management. 

FORM

Each biannual issue of FORM has a particular theme 

Leading design writer Steven Heller called FORM the best design magazine in the world, 'for its holistic coverage of industrial, product, graphic, and hybrid designs.' The magazine prides itself on being a print title first and foremost, so it does all the things that print titles do best: in-depth, long-form articles alongside quality photographs and illustrations. The covers are always exceptional, and it’s bilingual too: German and English. Each biannual issue has a theme. It could be a country (Mexico, South Korea), a topic (sport, designing protest), or something more abstract (danger, failure). 

Printed Pages

Printed Pages is exceptionally well put-together

Printed Pages is a biannual magazine that covers all areas of art and design, and presents a 'curated view of the best creative work we’ve seen in the past six months’ as well as ‘a host of feature interviews with a list of names who are currently making their mark on the creative world’.  

The current issue's recurring theme is activism and using creativity as a voice for positive change. It includes interviews with designers Sagmeister & Walsh, artists Gilbert and George, and street photographer Joel Meyerowitz. Exceptionally put-together, this one also passes the coffee table test with flying colours.

Read more:

10 ways to make your magazine cover stand out66 brilliant print advertsCreate special print finishes in InDesign