This year 438 Aussie babies will be born with cerebral palsy – every kilometre I ride and every dollar I raise will help give them the best possible future.  And you can help!  Please support my ride by making a donation today.

Together, let’s advance research into the prevention, treatment and cure of cerebral palsy.

2019 is gearing up to really take off, with loads of positive energy abroad.  Following recent visits to New York, London, Ireland, I instantly welcomed old and new friends, colleagues, and clients.  This provides CAD Studio with the opportunity to expand operations globally.

In Ireland, I attended a red carpet event at Makree Castle.  Samuel Brett, ‘The Storyteller’, was invited to share his story on stage.  The event was open to Press & Media.  I was invited as Sam’s publicist and creative website designer to video his live performance.  Makree Castle is a historical landmark in Ireland, beautifully renovated to its’ original glory, it is a tribute to the organisers of this event.  Located in Sligo, it is a ‘must-see’ destination when visiting Ireland.  For a unique tour experience visit shanakee.ie – Storytelling Adventure Tours.

New York was truly a highlight.  This chic, trendy and fast-paced city is quick to welcome you.  I loved the vibe and positive energy.  I look forward to expanding my business outreach here and was fortunate to make some excellent business alliances.  Thank you Julie Stahl and Ann Lawlor of Blond & Co Creative Agency, New York City for your positive energy, professional mentoring and amazing hospitality.  I learned so much just visiting your studio and feeling the positive energy.  Blond & Co is a creative content house that integrates strategy, creative & production under one roof for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle production studios.  A class act.  I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Blond & Co for your next film, production and photographic advertising campaign.

What do you think? Are you ready for thinner typography options, more elaborate detailing and icon-style logos? You might be after seeing some of these design projects.

Here’s what’s trending in design this month:

O1. THIN(NER) Typography

Thin type is back in! Thin typefaces got a bad rap back when Apple opted for a super thin, lightweight font for its operating system with iOS 7.

Designers balked at the option which was a little tough to read and kind of bucked many design trends happening at the time. (Flat was all the rage, but some argued that Apple’s almost flat combined with the ultra-thin typeface was too much.) At the same time, wider, bolder typefaces became the dominant element for website headline and typography on hero images above the scroll.

The tide is beginning to shift the other way. Today’s thin typefaces are somewhat thinner than what we’ve become accustomed to, but aren’t near as thin as the Apple option.

The best thing about opting for a thinner typeface is that you have a little more freedom in with the design. While thin typefaces are not recommended for body copy, they can work well at larger sizes when there is plenty of contrast.

The examples below all showcase some of the best uses of thinner typefaces:

• Use a thin typeface in all caps to create an impactful headline. This option often works best with only a few words, such as Luxury African Safaris, below. It’s equally important to think about the lettering in relationship to the actual letters; some words can be tough to read in thin typefaces or caps.
• Pair a thin typeface with a bolder option to create emphasis, such as WebDesignStudio, below.
• Use a thinner typeface in color (on a contrasting background) to add visual emphasis, such as Leeds Golf Centre, below.

Looking for inspiration? Here are five Google Fonts that fit the bill (and will look great): Source Sans Pro,  Dosis, Scope One, Rajdhani, Martel Sans.

O2. ELABORATE DETAILS

From fun flourishes to fancy typographic treatments to user interface elements that create unexpected delight, elaborate details are becoming more common. The trick to creating something elaborate is to make it appear as simple as possible for the user, meaning it has to be easy to understand and use.

The great thing about details is that they can add a lot of personality to a project. These elements can carry across mediums from website projects to product design to printed elements so that everything from a brand has that same special something visually. (This is an excellent way to establish brand cohesion.)

These details can appear in a number of ways and should always add to the overall effect, not detract from it. Elaborate details are best used for a single instance in the design and shouldn’t overwhelm users. Using something elaborate too many times can end up creating the opposite of the intended effect and actually visually overwhelm users. So once you find your “trick” use it once and use it well.

The Forefathers Group, below, uses elaborate styling with an old-style logotype with colored swashes above the headline. The type style is uncommon for web design and combined with the elaborate logotype, it is a striking combination. But you can also see how this design can only be effective with a single use. The typeface could be difficult if used for large blocks of text and the styling could get in the way of messaging. Here, the design team used it perfectly.

Vitra Task Chairs, below, uses elaborate user interface animations to engage users. The homepage includes a “Drag” button that opens into the product line menu. The background stays the same in both panels so that the chairs are always being highlighted in the video reel. Animations between clicks are equally interesting and even if you aren’t ready to buy a chair, moving around the website is encouraged.

Sometimes the most elaborate design doesn’t include any super special effects. Only Kite School, below, uses fun video real and large logotype for a combination that draws the eye in. While the large logotype looks simple, creating typography that’s both readable and functional in that manner can be tough. Here, it works beautifully and the mood of the lettering matches what you would expect from this type of business.

O3. ICON LOGOS

Is that an icon or a logo? The line between the two design elements is getting more crossed all the time. Icon-style logos are popping up everywhere.

Drawn from the minimal style, and because they work in a variety of applications, icon logos can be colorful or line-art inspired. Most uses lean toward a smaller style logo in a shape that will also carry over to social media sites for consistent branding online.

The downside of an icon logo is there’s not a lot of room for an actual company name. The best icon logos are designed so that they can stand alone or alongside lettering, such as District0x, below. Note how the colorful “d” icon could work by itself—it looks great in the circle Twitter logo format because of the asymmetrical shape—and doesn’t feel in the way when paired with the full brand name.

Jardan Furniture and Nobbys Lighthouse, below, opt for more simple icon logo styles with the brand name set in type below. While this is a popular option, it can create some disconnect between the name and logo. Opt for placements that connect the elements—both examples centered the logo and typeset company name—to create an eye path from one element to the next.

CONCLUSION

It’s fun to watch as trends start to shift from one dynamic to the next. Do you think more detailed styles will replace minimalism? Or is it just a passing fad?

To which you might respond with disgust or anger.

I mean, it’s not surprising. The advent of ready-made drag-and-drop website building platforms made creating websites so much easier, especially because there is little to no coding required. And as someone whose bread and butter is designing websites, you can’t help but feel sorry.

Personally, you wouldn’t want your job to be replaced with an easier way to do stuff, much like how horses were replaced by cars back in the day.

Frameworks and CMS are becoming more and more popular too. You have WordPress, Blogger, Drupal. You have Foundation, and Bootstrap. You have SquareSpace, Wix and Weebly.

There is so much competition, and all of these services usually target casual clients offering them to just subscribe instead of looking for web designers.

The points I’ve built so far would certainly make you think, “OMG! these ready-made websites surely kill web design. The end is nigh!”

But what if it doesn’t? What if instead of killing web design, these ready-made websites are helping web design become more profitable? What if they are not cars replacing horses, but instead are the Ubers to our regular cabs?

Ready-made websites are friends, not foes

The point of these services, themes/templates, and frameworks is to make the task of creating websites easier. A beginner, who is not attuned to how good websites are supposed to look like, may find it easy to use an online website building service. And if that person finds it easy, what more could an experienced designer do?

Now if you ask me, are ready-made websites actually killing the web design?

My answer would be a firm no.

Contrary to the popular belief, I think that ready-made websites are actually doing just the opposite, and the write up that follows I’m going to discuss just how.

No need to reinvent the wheel

There is no substitute for creativity and originality, however, originality doesn’t always mean you create stuff from scratch each and every time. I think an intelligent designer can produce an original web design even if he uses a pre-made website template by cleverly customizing it to his client’s needs.

Faster turnaround time = More money

In the field of web designing, there come certain times when you suddenly catch the favor of the goddess of good fortune. You may get as many projects in a single day as you might get in months. And all of a sudden, time becomes a precious commodity as it translates directly into profits.

At this point, the biggest advantage you can get from a ready-made website is faster turnaround time. Instead of hiring a helping hand or rejecting a few projects just because you want to create everything on your own, you can use pre-made websites to your advantage to get projects done more quickly.

Won’t it effect the quality of work, you ask? Well, it may to some extent, but then again, if you’re an astute designer, you would twist and turn a boring template into a highly customized design.

A visualization aid for uninspired clients

Ready-made websites provide good overall value to your clientsbecause of their intuitive nature. Let’s say that you have a client who wants a website made but is dumb as a dishwasher when it comes to visualization. You discuss and offer him some prototypes and he still can’t visualize the idea inside your head.

So what’s a good way to make him see what you see? Use templates.

By using templates, you can show how the design will most likely end up looking like. This means that you are saving yourself and your client a lot of time going through different lines of communication just to hit that right spot.

Does that mean anybody can do your job now?

Truly ready-made websites are very easy to use and literally anyone who has a computer can use them, does not mean anyone can be a web designer now?

The answer would be no.

Yeah, the actual work of putting elements and customizing them can be done by anyone, but there are still things that have strings attached to them – things that can only be handled by a professional web designer.

Limitations of ready-made websites & “kiddie” designers

In this case, I’m borrowing the word “kiddie” from the hacker terminology “script kiddie” – a hacker who only uses scripts made by others in order to wreak havoc on the internet, so technically they are just unskilled individuals who don’t have the knowledge to actually make things work outside the boundaries of the tools they are using.

1. Color scheme can’t be learned in one day

In web design, it is utterly crucial to choose the right color scheme that would work for both user experience as well as aesthetics. It’s a skill that takes years of experience and a natural eye for colors that complement each other.

This also includes colors that are hot and trending, and how they are used to make websites look appealing.

2. Fonts are what make websites subtly stand out

In addition, not everyone is adept at choosing the correct typographyand fonts. I mean look at all those birthday invitations you received in Comic freaking Sans. Disaster!

One does not simply use Times New Romans or Comic Sans on websites. A seasoned web designer knows the psychology behind each family of fonts, when to use serif or sans serif, how to make headings and subheadings pop, how to make each paragraph more distinct, and the like.

3. Only experts know that it’s not just about the surface

Web designers also work behind the scenes in order to make each website they design works properly from the development point-of-view.

There are some back-end optimizations to take into account such as meta tags and descriptions, how to make each website search engine and social media optimized, and overall responsiveness are things only a person with years of experience in the field can do.

To sum it up

In conclusion, ready-made websites aren’t killing web design, instead, they are helping web designers and developers by making their work easier, more profitable and more valuable to their clients.

As a web designer should not fret because you can’t be overtaken by ready-made websites yet. Yes, some businesses prefer easy to use and cheaper alternatives but nothing beats the flexibility, reliability, and originality of a website built by real professionals.