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.sitepoint.com/debugging-javascript-node-debugger/
It’s a trap! You’ve spent a good amount of time making changes, nothing works. Perusing through the code shows no signs of errors. You go over the logic once, twice or thrice, and run it a few times more. Even unit tests can’t save you now, they too are failing. This feels like staring at an empty void without knowing what to do. You feel alone, in the dark, and starting to get pretty angry.
A natural response is to throw code quality out and litter everything that gets in the way. This means sprinkling a few print lines here and there and hope something works. This is shooting in pitch black and you know there isn’t much hope.
Does this sound all too familiar? If you’ve ever written more than a few lines of JavaScript, you may have experienced this darkness. There will come a time when a scary program will leave you in an empty void. At some point, it is not smart to face peril alone with primitive tools and techniques. If you are not careful, you’ll find yourself wasting hours to identify trivial bugs.
The better approach is to equip yourself with good tooling. A good debugger shortens the feedback loop and makes you more effective. The good news is Node has a very good one out of the box. The Node debugger is versatile and works with any chunk of JavaScript.
Below are strategies that have saved me from wasting valuable time in JavaScript.
The Node CLI Debugger
The Node debugger command line is a useful tool. If you are ever in a bind and can’t access a fancy editor, for any reason, this will help. The tooling uses a TCP-based protocol to debug with the debugging client. The command line client accesses the process via a port and gives you a debugging session.
You run the tool with node debug myScript.js, notice the debug flag between the two. Here are a few commands I find you must memorize:
sb(‘myScript.js’, 1) set a breakpoint on first line of your script
c continue the paused process until you hit a breakpoint
repl open the debugger’s Read-Eval-Print-Loop (REPL) for evaluation
Don’t Mind the Entry Point
When you set the initial breakpoint, one tip is that it’s not necessary to set it at the entry point. Say myScript.js, for example, requires myOtherScript.js. The tool lets you set a breakpoint in myOtherScript.js although it is not the entry point.
For example:
// myScript.js
var otherScript = require(‘./myOtherScript’);
var aDuck = otherScript();
Say that other script does:
// myOtherScript.js
module.exports = function myOtherScript() {
var dabbler = {
name: ‘Dabbler’,
attributes: [
{ inSeaWater: false },
{ canDive: false }
]
};
return dabbler;
};
If myScript.js is the entry point, don’t worry. You can still set a breakpoint like this, for example, sb(‘myOtherScript.js’, 10). The debugger does not care that the other module is not the entry point. Ignore the warning, if you see one, as long as the breakpoint is set right. The Node debugger may complain that the module hasn’t loaded yet.
Time for a Demo of Ducks
Time for a demo! Say you want to debug the following program:
function getAllDucks() {
var ducks = { types: [
{
name: ‘Dabbler’,
attributes: [
{ inSeaWater: false },
{ canDive: false }
]
},
{
name: ‘Eider’,
attributes: [
{ inSeaWater: true },
{ canDive: true }
]
} ] };
return ducks;
}
getAllDucks();
Using the CLI tooling, this is how you’d do a debugging session:
> node debug debuggingFun.js
> sb(18)
> c
> repl
Continue reading %Debugging JavaScript with the Node Debugger%
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/Designrfix/~3/X9pbRmIeFVY/find-design-niche
You’re creative, and you love your tech. You’ve dabbled with a lot of different things, but it’s time to find something you can fully commit to. While a career isn’t quite like a marriage (your career won’t get upset if you want to break up), it always helps to feel like you’ve found “the […]
The post How to Find the Best Design Niche for Yourself appeared first on designrfix.com.
Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/av9H–SKguQ/become-your-own-boss-with-freelance-mastery-bundle
Freelancers don't just have to be good at the services they offer, they also need to know how to market themselves. Being your own boss can be a rewarding experience, and now the Professional Freelancing Mastery Bundle can give you the tools you need to make your dream a reality. Get it on sale now for 98% off the retail price.
There is a whole ecosystem of freelancers online who offer up their skills and services to those in need. Finding an audience can be tricky, as can building a reputation in an already crowded field. No matter what you're selling, the Professional Freelancing Mastery Bundle can help you find your audience.
This bundle is packed with courses that will teach you how to make the most of platforms like Fiverr, UpWork, and more. Plus, it will teach you how to hone your skills to build your own website and find your dream clients.
You can get the Professional Freelancing Mastery Bundle on sale now for 98% off the retail price. That's a huge saving off an essential collection of courses that can help you to go freelance and become your own boss, so grab this deal today.
About Creative Bloq deals
This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life.
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.
Related articles:
8 ways to make more money in 20184 ways to cash in as a freelancer9 things nobody tells you about going freelance
Original Source: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2018/01/learning-elm-drum-sequencer-part-1/
If you’re a front-end developer following the evolution of single page applications (SPA), it’s likely you’ve heard of Elm, the functional language that inspired Redux. If you haven’t, it’s a compile-to-JavaScript language comparable with SPA projects like React, Angular, and Vue.
Like those, it manages state changes through its virtual dom aiming to make the code more maintainable and performant. It focuses on developer happiness, high-quality tooling, and simple, repeatable patterns.
Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/xTPO3A43o3k/10-stress-relief-gadgets-for-designers
January can be a tough time; all that festive partying, darkened afternoons and chilly weather means that inspiration and motivation can often be more difficult to keep hold of than usual. This tends to lead to stress – and a lot of it – which, in turn, renders you unable to focus.
The best new tech for designers in 2018
But fear not creative folk – here we’ve pulled together some of the finest gadgets that aim to help you get back to your best self. From nature-inspired structures to electronic wizardry, explore the technology that could bring the calm back into your creative process.
01. Fidget Cube
Playing around with puzzles can often lead to a more efficient work ethic
$9.99/£7.61 from antsy labs
Funded through Kickstarter in 2016, this clever desk toy from designers Matthew and Mark McLachlan will remind you that playing around with puzzles can often lead to a more efficient work ethic.
Featuring six sides, each features something to fidget with, whether you like to click, flip, glide or roll. There’s even a side inspired by those age-old worry stones that aim to get you breathing and reduce anxiety.
02. BiOrbAIR terrarium
A little greenery can go a long way in establishing a calm and relaxing work environment
We all know that a little greenery can go a long way in establishing a calm and relaxing work environment. If you’re unable to stroll around the park on your lunch break or escape to the countryside at the weekend, a terrarium is pretty much the next best thing.
This one from biOrb is tech-heavy (and has a fairly hefty price tag) but that means it can take care of your plants so you don’t have to. Creating the perfect micro-climate for growing tropical plants, you can sit back and enjoy your personal slice of paradise.
03. Sona
Sona keeps tabs on your heart rate and physical activity to measure your overall stress levels
Wearable technology offers new possibilities when it comes to wellbeing, both mental and physical. The Sona bracelet wants to “train your resilience to stress” and comes with five Resonance breathing meditation sessions for focus and calm.
It's perfect if you need a quick fix during small, intense bouts of stress-related anxiety. It also keeps tabs on your heart rate and physical activity to measure your overall stress levels.
04. The Pip
Who knew that your fingertips could lead to a happier and healthier mind?
Who knew that a stress-free life was at your fingertips? It turns out that the pores on your fingertips are extremely sensitive to stress. The Pip is an innovative gadget that reads these signals and turns them into a visualisation that enables you to keep track of your stress levels.
With a scientific board at the heart of the design, The Pip allows you to be self-aware and, in turn, establish some self-care.
05. Thync
Thync uses electronic pulses to stimulate the brain
Claiming to be the first wearable technology that “actively elevates your mood and lowers stress,” Thync uses electronic pulses to stimulate the brain.
If that sounds worrying, it does come with some solid credentials: this stress relief gadget was developed by a team of neuroscientists from MIT, Harvard and Stanford and has been clinically tested over 5000 times. Plus, with such a sleek design, you’ll be combating stress in serious style.
06. Wellbe
Discover exactly what triggers your stress with Wellbe
Initially funded through IndieGoGo, the WellBe wearable provides insights into what exactly triggers your stress levels to rise. The bracelet monitors your heart rate and uses a sophisticated algorithm to determine your stress and calmness levels based on time, location and people you meet throughout your day.
Cut back on the negativity in your life.
07. Face Of The Moon stress ball
The ‘Faces of the Moon’ stress ball expressions change as you squeeze
Stress balls are a go-to toy for desk spaces, and while most of them do the job, this stress relief product from The Museum of Modern Art is truly one-of-a-kind.
Created by Japanese designer Makiko Yoshida, the ‘Faces of the Moon’ expressions change as you squeeze. Produced using a unique texture, its addictive tendencies will help relieve your anxiety. Who couldn’t love a face like that?
08. Spire
Spire measures your breathing, notifying you when your it reflects tension
When it comes to managing your stress levels, focusing on your breath is one of the most important exercises around. Spire helps to manage this by measuring your breathing, notifying you when it reflects your tension.
Through its use, you can discover what makes you calm and focused or stressed and agitated, allowing you to be more productive than ever. Designed to clip onto your belt, you can also program your Spire to let you know when you’ve been inactive and it’s time to get walking.
09. Prana
Prana tells you when you need to improve your posture
Bad posture is one of the most common problems for creatives who work at a desk. Thankfully, the team at Prana has created a stress relief wearable that not only tracks your breath but also tells you when you need to improve your posture.
Designed to rapidly activate your body’s relaxation response through proper diaphragmatic breathing and good posture, Prana could enable you to have a calm working day in no time.
10. Muse
Designed like a headband, Muse uses brain-sensing technology to measure whether your mind is calm or active
You may already be well on your way to stress management through meditation and while this is proven to keep your mind healthy, you may have trouble sticking to a meditative routine or find yourself distracted during the process.
Designed like a headband, Muse uses brain-sensing technology to measure whether your mind is calm or active, and translates those signals into guiding sounds, so you can stay focused.
Related articles:
How to avoid creative burnout10 designers' New Year resolutions for 201821 ways to unlock your creative genius
Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Designrfix/~3/Qa3XxGI25kA/pay-world-travel-hacker-bundle
Today, more and more people are choosing to travel the world and work remotely. The digital nomad way of living is one of the fastest growing lifestyles today. In fact, studies suggest that there will be about 1 billion digital nomads by 2035. There are several benefits to being a digital nomad. With the increasing […]
The post Pay What You Want: World Travel Hacker Bundle appeared first on designrfix.com.
Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~3/cGX-aT9I_ro/
The incredible material design library is awesome for designers. It might be the most famous design language ever and it fits well with all devices.
And with the large following behind material design, we’ve also seen dozens of frameworks hit the web. Many of these are half-baked or partially finished, but there are some good ones in the mix.
For this post I’ve curated my top picks for the 14 best material design kits you can start using today. These work for all types of websites and, even though they follow a similar design language, they all have unique features that make them valuable.
1. MUI
I recently stumbled onto the MUI framework and really like it so far. I had never heard of this before – but I have a feeling it’ll be around for the long haul.
It’s a material design framework built around Google’s guidelines for great websites, clean code and native device support from smartphones to desktops. This includes all the standard material UI elements like appbars, tappable buttons, and custom panels.
The introduction is pretty clean and easy to follow regardless of your coding background. Even if you’ve never used a framework before, this one should be a piece of cake.
2. Material Design Kit
The infamous Material Design Kit is perhaps the best digital design freebie out there. It comes as a full package for Photoshop, Sketch and Adobe XD. This makes up about 90% of the design community’s preferred software. So regardless of how you craft mockups – you’ll be good.
It comes with 60+ different interface components and it’s pretty darn easy to work with.
Be warned that the full kit comes at a price. So while the free version is fantastic, it shouldn’t be the only kit you use for mockup design work.
3. Materialize.css
Materialize.css is another personal favorite that’s been around for a few years. This one’s definitely stable and should be good to run on any site.
Have a look at their startup guide to get a feel for how everything works. You can include optional JS files to add components to your page or just use the Materialize stylesheet.
Most developers want a lightweight CSS framework, so it makes sense to focus primarily on Materialize as a frontend HTML/CSS structure.
4. Material Design Lite
The Material Design Lite framework avoids any reliance on external JS libraries or CSS files. It’s a completely self-supporting framework that runs on modern coding standards and even supports graceful degradation for older browsers.
However, this MDL library has officially merged with the Web Components project – so it’s no longer in active development.
But I still included it here because it’s a great starting point for new projects. You won’t find many (or any) bugs in the code and it should work as expected.
5. Surface
Surface is a general CSS framework that doesn’t exactly clone Google’s material guidelines. However, it is inspired by them.
The entire library is 100% CSS-based and uses zero JavaScript. This means no scripts weighing you down and all the components run in pure CSS.
In total, the stylesheet measures just over 5KB – which is pretty reasonable considering what you get.
Have a look at the getting started page for more details.
6. MD Bootstrap
MD Bootstrap is one of the few freemium libraries out there. It does cost money for the pro version, but you can use the free version indefinitely. This makes it perfectly suitable for most projects.
Not to mention this library runs on Bootstrap 4, which makes it fully compliant with the newest updates. Pretty cool!
There are quite a few Bootstrap frameworks that use material design, but the MD Bootstrap kit is my favorite.
Browse their tutorial to learn more.
7. Bootstrap Material Design
This is one other Bootstrap add-on that really takes material design to the next level. With the Bootstrap Material Design framework you have the option of using the older version (3.x) or the newer Bootstrap 4. Both choices are fully supported and this library is completely free regardless.
While I think both material BS libraries offer value, I think this one’s a bit more customizable from the get-go. But that also means it takes a little more work to learn the internals.
Have a look at their GitHub page if you would like to learn more.
8. Material UI
If you’re building modern webapps then you’ll probably know all about React. It’s one of the largest JS frameworks on the web and it’s growing larger every year.
The Material UI framework brings material design into the React.js ecosystem. This lets you build custom material-styled webapps while coding on top of a React.js base.
It’s currently in development for a v1.0 release and you can expect that update very soon. Have a look at the GitHub repo for more information.
9. Vuetify
Another fast-growing JS framework is Vue.js. This works like React, except it feels more like a traditional templating library for all types of sites – not just webapps.
The Vuetify library offers a material design UI kit on top of the Vue.js framework. This project started a little while back and it features a pretty dedicated support base.
There’s a fantastic user guide online you can check out if you’d like to see how this works in action.
But I can’t say this is the perfect solution for all Vue.js projects, so keep that in mind before launching this on a live site.
10. Bulma
Love using CSS flexbox? Then the Bulma framework is for you.
This runs on top of common material design features with aesthetics that can blend into any page. The design is clean, super-easy to use and the grid system is phenomenal.
This is my top choice for anything flexbox related. Even if you don’t know much about flexbox, this framework makes for a great learning tool.
11. Ionic Material
If you want to build native apps without programming, then Ionic is a perfect choice. It works like a web framework and lets you publish native Android applications that can actually be accepted into the store.
Ionic Material takes things to the next level. With this framework you can build native-looking apps that run on Google’s material design guidelines.
All you need is some knowledge of Ionic and a willingness to dive into this gorgeous UI kit.
12. Google Material Color
Google Material Color isn’t a complete UI kit, but rather a color library for web developers.
This comes with a bunch of pre-built color codes that fit perfectly into Google’s color requirements. And this library runs on top of Sass, Less, and Stylus.
13. Material UI
Short, simple, and easy to setup best describes this Material UI kit developed by Balaj Marius.
It’s a super-simple concept and certainly not the largest library here. But it gets the job done – offering a solid number of material components for any project.
Most of these follow the card interface which has become popularized by Google. It’s the perfect addition to any material website.
14. Hubuntu UI
Few designers mention admin themes because they’re just not as popular as frontend frameworks. But the Hubuntu UI admin kit is phenomenal for building your own dashboard, whether it’s for a CMS, a SaaS product or anything else.
This entire framework runs on the Stylus preprocessor but can be used with plain CSS. It is fairly complex so you’ll need to do some reading to get into the nitty-gritty details.
Thankfully everything you need to learn can be found on the main GitHub page, along with setup instructions for the whole framework.
Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~3/rFQyt7UZYC8/
Despite search engines getting better at indexing websites, and sites paying extra attention to broken links through dedicated plugins and services, 404 pages are still an integral part of the modern web.
As hard as companies and sites try to avoid issuing broken links and sending visitors to redundant pages, there will always be a certain few that slip through. As such, it’s important to have a 404-page design to both redirect the user to a different page and to make light of the error through humor or playful, creative design.
In this article, we are going to compile a selection of some of the most creative 404 web page designs for your inspiration.
Android
One of the more extravagant 404-page designs, the Android team has devised a game to include on the page. It’s beautifully put together and offers a fun and creative take on what is possible.
Ueno
Using a beautiful motion graphic background, Ueno’s 404 page is simple but extremely fun and comical. Every aspect remains on-brand, from the graphics to the typography.
One Shared House
Using a hand-drawn style grid upon a two-tone background, this example offers two options for users landing on the page. They can navigate to the homepage or head to the survey page.
Rezo Zero
Rezo Zero’s design uses a clever film reference to Pulp Fiction, with a comical and confused-looking John Travolta GIF.
New Yorker
The New Yorker has included a custom illustration on their 404-page design. It shows a mouse lost in a maze, poking fun at the error while still offering the usual navigation areas and product upsells.
Cooklet
What better graphic to include for a cookery site, than an empty plate? It’s a simple but very clever example of what can be achieved on even the most basic of 404-page designs.
Dropbox
Utilizing illustration graphics from their rebrand, Dropbox presents a simple but playful design with clear navigation links for users to continue on their way.
Airbnb
Similar to Dropbox, Airbnb combines a simple on-brand illustration with a clear message and useful links for the user. The illustration again has a comedic element to poke fun at the error.
