Illustration

Are we born knowing how to see, or do we learn by experience? It turns out kittens have taught us much about how our brains work.

There's a good argument that the skull and crossbones is one of the most enduring graphic designs of the last 1,000 years. Does it still work?

It's hard to imagine how Illustrator could be improved until you see what a good plugin can do. Simone shows us his favorite plugins for Adobe Illustrator

Most of us know that web fonts are a great way serve scalable, flexible icons, but Massimo is here to show you how SVG icons can be even more powerful.

Often inspiration is seen as a rare and mysterious commodity. Mood boards is a great way to put some process into an act that sometimes appears miraculous.

Graphs and charts change minds and influence people. Amit looks at five browser-based chart apps that even non-designers can use.

Images are part of our brain's native OS, but the written word has accuracy and precision. Helen tries to find the balance point between images and text.

Sometimes design genius isn't what you add -- it's what you take away. Henry Beck's London Underground Map tells us a lot about good information design.

Yahoo! estimates we'll take 880 billion digital photos in 2014 -- the challenge is finding the right image. Ada looks at your best search options.

'Less is more' is a principle often applied to pure design problems, but you can even see it at work in the design of late 1700's maps.

Languages are not flags, and flags are not languages. So, what is the best to approach representing language on the web? Gabrielle ponders.

Mobile design requires a specialist set of tools and Joyce has delivered a killer set of resources for all your design needs.

Icons are a central element of web design, but we need maximum flexibility with responsive design. Massimo shows us how to create an icon font from scratch.

In the past video on the web has been about telling stories, video backgrounds are more about setting an emotional tone. Are they a design win or UX fail?

Data can be powerful but making it appetizing is key. Gabrielle takes a close look at some tools that can help you present slick online charts.

Great logos are a subtle blend of the typography and graphical, but switching the languages presents many challenges. Alex sums up your options.

Fonts, icons and stock imagery are the raw fuel of web design, so Elio has scoured the web for some of the best Creative Commons resources out there.

It's almost a year since Google launched 'Google Web Designer'. Zack takes it for a workout to see how it stacks up with a real-world project.

Parallax effects are certainly 'hip' but are they helpful to your brand, your product, or your UX? Diana finds it might depend on your goals.

Dan Carr gives a detailed guide to using Adobe Edge Animate to create a fantastic, interactive infographic

When Adobe stopped developing Fireworks a lot of designers lost one of their favorite prototyping tools. Does Illustrator shape as a likely replacement?

We've all seen that three lines icon, and have learned what it means, but does that make it good? Gabrielle looks for alternatives to the hamburger icon.

Mobile UIs have been around since the 90's, but big screened smartphones really changed the game. Elio follows Google's journey to Material Design.

Why do some shapes just resonate with us more than others? What's going on in our minds? Alex explains the 'gestalt principle'.

Think you're pretty handy with CSS? Welcome to the Challenge #1: Recreate this GIF in code -- most elegant solution wins.

Design is no longer something you do only at your desk. Following Simone's Android article, Gabrielle reels off her favorite 10 iPhone apps for designers.

Custom fonts, sometimes called proprietary or bespoke, are becoming a more and more coveted branding component. These examples will show you why.

Creative Commons offers some great options for designers of all types. Elio shows us some neat tricks to take best advantage of this design goldmine.

In the past five years, our mobile devices have evolved from gadget toys to production-ready work tools. Simone walks us through his favourite Android Apps.

Photographic lettering designs aren't new, but they can give your design a fresh edge. Annarita makes graphical text with Photoshop.