Friday, February 25, 2011

Various Methods For Line Web Icons Design

The objects with the outlined contours is another kind of Line icons. They're known as contour drawings. You can also find another kind of icons: the items are without some strict outlines. They are named gesture drawings. Such drawings are being widely used by skilled artists who can repeat the outlines of the object right after seeing it. It is not a complete piece of art but rather a sketch which demands 20-30 seconds to be drawn.

Another technique is adding some halftones and shades to the object with the help of short lines and crosshatching. Their frequency and pencil pressure can be different. And this variety impart more three-dimensional look to the object. This trick is widely used in world wide web design as well. It helps to make amazing Line icons, logos and buttons.The lines with the dots not combining the singular elements are known as open lines. The lines can be gesture-like, parallel, contour etc. as well. Contour drawing consists of fantastic simplicity and refinement of line design. You may be want to know what is bezier curves in computer graphics? It's such type of the curves that are essential for creating complex line shapes. These curves are handy small features necessary for creating the vector shapes like line icons, unusual buttons etc.Today computer technologies reached such a level when it becomes possible to reproduce exactly the same designs or just build new shapes that based on some older ones. The great thing - it can be done without extra efforts and time. Another benefit is that it is easy to return to the previous adjustments with a help of the history panel. As a result there is no need to design Line web icons from scratch in case you have made some mistakes.

Simple Icons And Minimalistic Internet Page Design

Simple icons are created to unite minimalism and modern trend. Light-weight Simple web icons are meant to be designed to increase web page user interaction.

Minimalistic website design - prevalent trend

Lets discover what minimalistic webpage design indicates. Of course the first features are simplicity and lightweight elements. Simple icons involve all of this. This kind of icons doesn't have complex wordings, figures, textures and patterns. Often less even means more. It depends on areas and extent. Webpage design is exactly such area.

Minimalistic design is quite an unexpected trend today. So far as you know high present day technologies have one great disadvantage - usually they lead to the loss of simplicity. Nowadays the modern trend is to combine minimalistic web design with CSS3 and HTML5. Internet site that uses simple design often has off-color effects and also actively use CSS and Ajax.

Among essential features of the contemporary simple webpage design are the following:

  • grid based design;
  • simple icons;
  • light shading and reserved color transition;
  • light texture of patterns and backgrounds (often transparent like);
  • more empty or white space;
  • simple shapes and figures, clear lines;
  • less amount of various bright colors;
  • readable and clear typography;

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Benefits Of Using And Sources Of Getting Realistic Web Icons.

Realistic icons are very important elements of the modern web design. You can also meet them in software programs, applications and add-ons, etc.

Web sites are a special niche demanding special methods for representation and promotion. One of these ways is including realistic icons into your website design. For sure icons will help users of your web site to get a quick initial impression of your online business as well as products that you offer. If you want to make icons noticeable - place them on the web-site's home page.

Surely if you want to have icons that fulfil all your requirements you need to hire the experienced designer who can make some unique set of icons. But remember that such method of designing of realistic icons is quite expensive and takes a lot of time. The custom order result still remains indefinite Even professional web site designers fall short of the mark called non-uniqueness. To save lots of time and smoothen things down they take icons created earlier and simply play with the colors and shades, use some other effects and sell realistic icons as exclusive items. Though in fact they aren't.

Finding authoritative icons resources it can be another way of getting pleasant web icons. They're various Realistic icons stocks and providers on the net. You see what you buy and the cost may occur essentially lower than in case with custom orders. Moreover you save your valuable time. So as far as you see now - stocks are much more preferable for finding well designed and affordable realistic icons . All these advantages make icon stocks the great deal.

Realistic Icons Useful Information

Creating realistic icons you need to build the basic pictograms first. It should look simple and motivated enough to make one icon significantly differ from another. It should look vivid enough if being displayed at worse resolution, resized, discolored or blurred. The icon should be recognizable at first sight. How to test your icons? If it's possible to discern the icon within less than a second - it's well done.<\p>

When you find the formula of the basic silhouette and it is stable you may make realistic icons more eye-catching with a help of decorative elements. Icons shouldn't be overloaded with the details and color tints. Design should look integral and reserved. You can also make the edges anti-aliased. The decoration shouldn't detract from the icons essence and functions.

Vector format in which the icons are stored makes them pretty simple to edit. You're free to resize, rotate, adjust the edges and modify outlines, change the color scheme and add more details etc. So you don't have to be an experienced designer or an artist to use them.

Realistic icons may be handy in case you need to design the interface layout of the new software program or IT services. Producing premium quality, eye-catching and good-looking realistic icons is not an easy task. Truly realistic pictures may be produced only if you take and edit the high-resolution photos. So keep this in mind.

Vintage Icons In Contemporary Web Design

Retro takes over the present day web site design industry. Vintage web icons representing the old-time styling are the message of classic beauty and noble taste, Vintage design trend evoke gentle feeling in the visitors hearts.Nowadays contemporary web-site style generally contains some vintage twist. Retro and Vintage are the most well-known and also widespread trends in the modern digital art. Vintage web icons, textures, patterns as well as clip-art bring mystery to your web site design. They help you to create the atmosphere of the old happy times, with feelings of simplicity, innocence and nobility. People usually associate childhood or youth with happy times. As a result psychological peculiarity of people vintage style is so well-known.

Discover all about retro style

In modern art retro becomes some conscious norm. Having emerged in the post-modern art, it penetrates into the modern internet page design in the form of vintage icons, old-style backgrounds, aged photography etc. No doubt it gives some zest to the look and feel of the ordinary web sites.

Typically the new retro style contains the Web 2.0 look with a vintage twist. It requires good recipe of mixing the ultra-modern clean blocks and the outdated, aged elements of design like Vintage icons, styles and color palettes.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Simple Icons Characteristics

We can easily say that among the main features of minimalistic design are Simple icons. Please remember simple icons and also other design elements should be used moderately. Simple icons are supposed to be used where they're unquestionably necessary and eliminated where it's possible. Refrain the optional simple web icons.

Simple web icons design consists of limited amount of color, reserved shades, clear elements, soft lighting. One of the best benefits of Simple web icons is that they don't distract website visitors from the main idea of your website.

Rules for simple icons design:

  • minimal usage of duplication
  • less amount of graphical elements
  • maximum intuitive clarity
  • clear typography in simple web icons
  • less icons

Minimalistic design with simple web icons

Do not forget about lightweight background textures and patterns. They're also essential for the design and content perception as well as simple icons. The eyes should focus on the webpage content or some important blocks but not on the background pattern or image itself. Producing the background use a light simple shade. This makes it secondary compared with the foreground items like simple web icons.

One more prominent feature of the lightweight and clear design is for sure clear typography. Simple icons names (if there're any) should be precise, meaningful and equivalent to their function. Headings placed on simple web icons need to be of readable font and large enough for easy reading. Clear hierarchy need to be followed as well.

Enough white or empty space is effective for creating a great clean simple icons design. Extra spaces keep elements more readable. For that reason it is easier to work with them. Some extra space between simple web icons will do your design no harm at all.

Usually the minimalistic trend is not entirely minimal. Nevertheless the dominance of white space there are still some simple icons, light textures, neat styles and bold fonts. Don't forget that minimal just isn't exactly the same as simple. Initially minimal meant plain typographic excluding images and styling. Today there's a great amount of various webpages over the Internet. That's why modern design requires something more than black text on white background. Add more zest to your web page layout with a help of some unusual coloring, catchy simple icons, half-transparent and lightweight textures and patterns. Also reduce elements of design to the most essential items.

Simple is often used as a synonym of smart. While creating the modern web site design you should keep in mind the eternal truth stating that genius is based on simplicity. Simple icons look great and professional especially for a clean business style design.

2d Icons Info

2D web icons along with other objects are notable for their flexibility. This is achieved by the peculiarity of rendering them at different resolutions suitable for various output devices.

2D Icons items:

  • raster pictures (digital graphics);
  • styled text as a typeset for 2D Icons;
  • vector models (geometric graphics).

The above-mentioned items can be managed by 2D transformations for example rotation, scaling or angular position and many others. Meshing basic models you will get more complex ones.

As a result of layers technique 2D web icons can create the illusion of all 3D characteristics like shadow, reflection or highlighting. The layers should maintain the definite hierarchy and order carefully. This makes modifying 2D icons and related objects easier.

2.5D Icons as the pseudo 3D kind of 2D Icons

2Dicons also are well-known as 2.5D models. This technology offers web designers ability to work with any layer without the need of touching the others. This kind of 2D object creation is preferred by the most of the prominent graphics editors.

2.5D is a synonym to pseudo 3D. It means "two-and-a-half-dimensional" graphics. Models which were developed with a help of with 2.5D technology appear to be tridimensional while in fact they aren't. The featured projection represents both front and side views.

This technology used for designing 2D icons is usually attained by the special lighting effect. 3D illusion can be reached as a result of virtual light source to the left or to the right side and above the users monitor.

Vintage Icons As An Element Of Vintage Design

In case your want your internet site looks archaic - use Vintage icons. They're probably the most noticeable and easy-to-apply graphical elements. Vintage web icons suppose authentic use of vintage typography, less-saturated colors and retro textures to help creating the vintage air emanating from the website. Your internet site visitors will definitely like antique air of your new design.

Retro came from the70s and 80s. Retro advertising art from the 1950s is bold and eye-catchy. Computer technologies help to put a new face on this type of art using its characters in web design and printing. Often such faces in the vintage web icons are retro cars, pin-up girls, soldiers and politicians of the former times as well.Without doubt among the most often used retro cars are Fiat 500, the 1970 Dodge Challenger, the 1969 Chevrolet Samara, the 1964 Ford Mustang etc. Vintage icons may include hints to retro cars concepts for attracting more interest to your web page layout. They are ideal for the websites concerning auto sales, transporting services, tour sites etc.Also you can face a such popular character as a pin-up model that is used in vintage icons design as well as other site graphics styling. It usually depicts exaggerated, idealized images of how the really beautiful and attractive woman should look like. Pin-up images are great for vintage web icons or clip-art designed for the model agencies, websites regarding health and beauty areas.

Military and security guard websites may successfully use soldiers and officers with an outdated appearance to win the site visitors favour and trust.

Usage of specific characters is not limited to the above-mentioned ones. Apply your creativity and use them as you wish. This will make people surprise and thus remember your web page.

Vintage Icons Patterns and Typography

Highly recommended Vintage patterns in vintage icons design:

  • patterns containing vintage papers;
  • with vintage frames;
  • with outmoded florals;
  • paper and bagging, gold-cloth as the texture fabric;
  • wooden or bronze textures for vintage icons.

Authentic fonts to be used for developing vintage icons titles, content headings and texts are Matchbook, Bazar Medium, Embossed, Hill House,-Fontleroy Brown, Fusty Saddle, Just Old Fashion, Goudy Bookletter 1911, Rocket Script, Parisian, Star Avenue etc. Feel free to find and purchase on the net the best appropriate fonts that will perfect match your design.

Try to pick up a such vintage-inspired layout that looks fashionable and appropriate, but no old-fashioned. The goal is to create the warm and noble, antique feel using Vintage web icons and also images and styled blocks for the web-site layout. Certainly your visitors will return to your internet site with a happy smile over and over again. They will feel more comfortable and cozy at your internet site.

But try to avoid stuffiness in your vintage design look. Dont forget that the main focus should be made on the products, services or content of your web page not on the internet site design.