KILUVU

Have you noticed that most websites are, more or less, made up of rectangular boxes? From the rectangular shape of a browser window to the rectangular shape of buttons, websites are mostly rectangular.

This is not only practical, it just makes sense. However, that doesn’t mean there is not room for other shapes like circles, triangles, or made up miscellaneous curvatures.

I’ve gathered 30 different websites that use different shapes for different purposes. Some of them use random assortments of shape for decorations – like Roadmap –  others completely redefine the structure of a web page – like Timetable Records....

Via Jeff Domansky

I joined HubSpot in September 2011 as a blogger. At the time, I needed to know how to write and educate through my writing.

Flash forward to today. My content role has evolved eons beyond what I could ever have imagined. To conquer lead gen, I mastered ebook production. To help spread data, I learned how to create infographics. When I write blog posts, that typically means designing a SlideShare or other visual element to accompany the posts.

It's been fun, but it certainly hasn't been easy. These days, content means so much more than just writing. And for those of you who understand that content marketing is a critical component of inbound success, content will need to mean more than just writing for you, too.

Download our full collection of free content marketing templates here. But rather than panic about the endless content formats you need to go master, we're here to make it easy for you. In this post, you'll find what I wish I had once upon a content marketer's dream: a full collection of 386+ free, customizable, content creation templates. Let's take a look at what's inside....

Via Jeff Domansky

Trump's "Make America Great Again" hat was pervasive, potent, and deeply misunderstood.mp's ubiquitous bright red trucker hat, festooned with "Make America Great Again," is now seared into our collective memory. It was the most hated and most loved symbol of the election, the most comical and the most serious. It was a poorly designed product that turned out to be very strong branding. It was the most misunderstood design of the election—for designers and non-designers alike.

But most of all, it's a lesson about the limitations of "good" design. "No one wants to give [Trump] credit, understandably, because it’s not something that was designed," says Lindsay Ballant, a designer, art director, and adjunct professor at the Maryland College of Art. "It should be something that designers think about. Good design doesn't necessarily mean effective design."

As we move on from the 2016 election and contemplate the role of design in subsequent political campaigns, understanding the difference between good and effective design is imperative....

Via Jeff Domansky

In order to arrange your design, you need a place to start. Backgrounds are the foundation of your graphics — it helps pave the path to forming a successful composition.

Textures and colors help create depth and contrast, allowing your graphics to stand out and get noticed. Well composed images can help create space for you to overlay text, while visually communicating your message at the same time.

Using a background can help give your designs more context and provide a visual element to help support your content.

Bonus: We’ve designed most of the images in this article as templates for you to personalize! To use them for your own stuff, just click them and they’ll be ready to edit in your Canva account (No Canva? It’s free!). 

Via Jeff Domansky, Mark E. Deschaine, PhD, Stephania Savva, Ph.D