Zavose » Design

7 Beautiful Premium Wordpress Themes

Chuck Lockhart (Zavose) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:23:35 +0000

It would take an incredibly enthusiastic maths nerd with a sizable calculator to work out the number of premium Wordpress themes available online – there really are too many too physically count. So to make your life just that little bit easier, we’ve rounded up the best of the best currently on offer.

Showtime Business Theme

The first offering from Themeforest, Showtime, really is a testament to show just how far the premium Wordpress theme market has come. Designed by Freshface, this light and airy theme redefines the typical product website, relived through refreshing graphics and the most amazing theme options panel you will ever see. It’s probably not healthy to get worked up over a theme options panel, but it’s seriously cool, and will make theme customisation a helluva lot easier.

Purchase the Showtime Business Theme

Implicit Wordpress Theme

Second on the list is Implicit, a sort of post-modernistic offering featuring, well, nothing. But that’s kinda the point, and it’s not really a bad thing. Many premium themes lack the startling effect of vast, empty space and design subtlety, so it’s good to see that this crucial design technique is used to the fullest extent through the theme. The preview really doesn’t do this theme justice – you have to view the live preview to get the full impact.

Purchase the Implicit Wordpress Theme

Premium Magazine Wordpress Theme

The Premium Magazine Wordpress Theme, by Maximus, is awesome. Not gonna lie, it’s just great. Firstly, it’s simple and functional yet visually appealing. Secondly, it doesn’t have a wanky name which is just so amazing. This theme has great potential for customisation too, another considerable bonus.

Purchase the Premium Magazine Wordpress Theme

Synthetik Wordpress Theme

Synthetik, which I will now reference as “Synthetic” considering that is the internationally accepted spelling, is a Wordpress theme modeled on the originally popular HTML theme of the same name and design. The theme is a unique offering, with a distinctly discernible quality about it from the subtle navigation menu to the beautiful footer – an unusual yet enticing design.

Purchase the Synthetik Wordpress Theme

The Professional

Anything from elegantthemes is practically synonymous with quality, and The Professional truly lives up to the standard. It’s the little details, like the popup slider on the frontpage to the simplistic beauty of the blog layout that confirms the exceptional calibre of this theme.

Purchase The Professional Wordpress Theme

Delicate News

Like The Professional, Delicate News is a stunning Wordpress theme, with a distinct emphasis on beauty through subtlety. An often unrecognised element to all elegantthemes is the extensive option panel, which like Showcase (above) is extensive and sophisticated. Delicate News is a creative alternative to the mainstream, and will certainly not disappoint.

Purchase The Delicate News Wordpress Theme

Light Bright

Finally, Light Bright, another offering from ElegantThemes, presents simplicity at its best through a uncomplicated yet visually alluring design. Don’t discount this theme because of it’s basic appearance: Light Bright has a surprising amount to offer both for a casual blogger and the professional.

Purchase The Light Bright Wordpress Theme

Infographic: Analysing the Envato Tuts+ Network

Chuck Lockhart (Zavose) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:21:20 +0000

As far as websites to be jealous of go, the Tuts+ network has got to be right at the top. The Tuts+ network, comprised of 8 websites, dominates the design sector and continuously and unfailingly provides high quality, usable tutorials and articles every single day. This infographic displays some general statistics about the Tuts+ network, including the ballpark monthly advertising revenue earned through these sites.

Join the Tuts+ Network

Simple, Effective Banner Advertising – 3 Great Tips

Chuck Lockhart (Zavose) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:07:22 +0000

Advertising a website or business is deceptively complicated process, and those who think it’s as simple as creating a colorful box couldn’t be further from the mark. But hey, we’re here to help – here’s a simple idea for an effective banner advertisement that’ll make sure your advertising money isn’t wasted.

The aim of any website advertisement is to draw people into your website, boosting your traffic and increasing website visibility. The key phrase that most people forget when creating an advertisement is the whole idea of “drawing people to a website”, not placing your entire website into a very small box. The aim of any advertisement should not be cramming a heap of information into a very small space – instead the perfect advertisement should give viewers just enough information to intrigue them, but not enough information so that they don’t actually have to visit your site to find out more. The “ideal” advertisement should make people want to find out more by giving them just enough, but not enough. Banner advertising is essentially manipulation, but in a kinda good way.

1. Use Color (keep it simple)

Color is possibly the most underused yet most effective element in banner advertising, as it’s a big key in determining the visual impact of your banner. Try to use a vivid shade for your background, but keep it light – no dark blue or black.

As important as color is, you also have to make sure you limit it’s use – keep the background monochromatic – don’t overcrowd your banner, and make sure your colors don’t clash.

2. Differentiation Through Imagination.

The downfall of any banner advertisement is that most advertisers try to fit a thesis into a 535×100 pixel box – it never works and will make your advertisement look cheap and unprofessional. Instead, consider what is the very core of your business or website that you want to convey to your customers. What is the essential to your business? How can you help your customers? What can you offer them to make their lives easier?

In a nutshell (to use a cliche), the less words you use, and the more your advertisement makes people go “Wha….?”, the more clicks you will get. We call it differentiation through imagination – the more wild, unpredictable and radical your advertisement is the more it will be noticed, and the more it will be clicked.

Display is also important. We take the modernist approach to advertising by keeping the colors simple and uniform, however it’s really up to you here to exercise some originality. Make sure you find a font that complements your banner, and one that doesn’t clash with the background. Take a break from the generic stuff and use something different (see the resource list below)

3. The Finishing Touches

The often overlooked areas of banner advertising can make a difference to the final product. Ensure that the most important text in the advertisement is big, clear, and more obvious than anything else. Don’t overcrowd your advertisement with unnecessary images and/or text – whitespace is very important.

Also, providing viewers with an action path, such as a button that says “find out more” or something similar will help in converting views to clicks, as buttons reassure people of where they’re going if they choose to click on your advertisement.

Creating an effective banner advertisement is all about simplicity and functionality. It’s not as complicated as you think – use color to your advantage and make it noticeable. The skills demonstrated in this tutorial extend past banner advertisements alone – any type of publication designed to be noticed will benefit. And to get you started, take a look at some of the resources we’ve listed below.

Build Internet Why Niche Banner Ads Fail
Web Design Ledger The Best Free Fonts of 2009
Inspired Magazine The Science of Whitespace in Design

13 Stunning & Inspiring Advertising Posters

Chuck Lockhart (Zavose) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:36:16 +0000

13 extraordinary digitally designed advertising posters created by some of best graphic designers in the world.

1. Martini Asti Elements | Earth

2. Tiger Beer

3. Red Bull | The Spirit Within

4. Liquid Color

5. Redd’s | Pitch

6. Nike Air Lab 1

7. Wrigley’s 5 Gum

8. Make a Drawing | Paris

9. Bacardi | Shoot and Fly

10. RPM Hard Drive Clock | Reclaim Time

11. Fanta Advertisement

12. Martini Asti Elements | Water

13. Redd’s | Ekspress

Cross Browser Compatibility & Why it will Ruin your Life

Chuck Lockhart (Zavose) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:50:29 +0000

Making your website cross browser compatible (that is, so it looks the same on all web browsers) is kind of like cooking a soufflé – the recipe looks simple enough until it comes out of the oven all flat and gross, and you end up hurling it into the wall at 150mph. Building your website to be cross browser compatible is a lot harder than it looks.

There’s a lot to be said for a standardized web browser. If only Microsoft and Apple could sit down at a table, and agree to only support Mozilla Firefox, the world of website creation would be a helluva lot simpler. Of course that’s not going to happen anytime soon, and while Firefox (the world’s best browser, obviously) currently occupies just under 25% of global browser use, Internet Explorer still commands over 60% of browser use worldwide – and as we all know, Internet Explorer sucks.

Over the last decade Internet Explorer, in it’s various incarnations, has gone from Prince Charming of the browser world to that distant intellectually-backward cousin with the monobrow. IE’s rapid demise is through no fault of it’s own, of course, but compared to the alternative browsers (Firefox, Safari and Chrome), it really can’t compare both in speed and usability. You and me know Internet Explorer is crap. 60% of internet users, however, don’t. Mmmm….

So what’s the problem with IE? Microsoft’s browser will display most webpages, and people will be able to read what you write. The problem lies in the little details, where IE will usually always generate something wrong, and let down your entire web design. Granted, most users won’t really notice, but that’s hardly the point, is it? You go to so much effort to create a visually impressive website which is let down by a dated but very dominant web browser.

The solution? Don’t even bother supporting crap browsers. A few of the larger websites have already taken this initiative which is encouraging to small scale websites. The only way to phase out the ancient browsers is to stop supporting them, it’s that simple. Of course until that happens, the only solution is to painstakingly modify and re-modify your website graphics and css code until your website displays roughly as intended across all browsers. And when for the eighteenth time your website search box looks crap in Internet Explorer, we don’t advise hurling your computer at the wall – as we discovered, it doesn’t actually help…

Affiliate Marketing versus Advertising PPC: Which one is right for you?

5 Premium Wordpress Themes Worth Your Attention

Chuck Lockhart (Zavose) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:52:04 +0000

5 hand picked highly flexible premium wordpress themes in a league of their own in terms of design and usability

Shape Shifter

Beginning the list is ShapeShifter, a unique “single page” wordpress theme. The shapeshifter theme allows content to be displayed in a minimalistic and very sophisticated way that not many other Wordpress themes can boast by incorporating separate parts into one page, where the sidebar links “scroll” to a different section of the website. Sound confusing? If you can describe this theme any better please let us know – the preview image and our description really don’t do this theme justice. Available from Themeforest for $30 (deposit)

Flexolio

If you’re looking for something with a big header that’s not boring, Flexolio is probably one of the best out there. Okay, so it has a pretty bad name, but the theme itself is exceptional both in it’s design and detail. This theme incorporates the CU3ER flash header that displays a few neat tricks to wow your visitors. Beyond that, the Flexolio theme incorporates subtle visual accents that surpass the quality of most other premium Wordpress themes. Available from Themeforest for $30 (deposit)

Glow

Elegantthemes has always been one of the leaders in Wordpress theme design, and Glow is perhaps one of the best themes there. Available for $19.95 (which, FYI, allows you access to 30 additional high quality themes), Glow is a highly flexible, high quality and generally good looking theme. The accompanying ePanel allows you to make easy changes without digging into the theme files, which saves you time AND helps you’re stress levels. Available from Elegant Themes ($19.95 for one year subscription to all themes)

Marketplace Community Wordpress Theme

While not as stunning as other Wordpress Themes, sometimes flexibility and simplicity come before anything else, of which the Marketplace Community Wordpress Theme is a great example. The layout, which is simple and intuitive is ideal for a website focused more on content visibility than visual impact. Maximus is well known for creating high quality Wordpress Themes, and the level of support you will receive with this theme will be more than enough to customise it to your liking. Available from Themeforest for $25 (deposit)

Quadro

Normally we save the best until last… er, sorry about that. But while Quadro (another aptly named theme) may look dull and uninviting, upon closer inspection this theme is actually highly detailed and endlessly flexible, meaning that with a bit of love this theme could be transformed into something else. From the intuitive and simplistic layout to the pixel-perfect line work, Quadro is a great option for those looking for a foundation to build a unique custom theme. Available from Themeforest for $30 (deposit)

Icon of the Year

Chuck Lockhart (Zavose) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:17:52 +0000

It’s that time of year when we get our nerd on and crown the best icon of the year. The criteria is simple – it has to look good and it has to be free for download by the general public. With a post this exciting, you’d be crazy not to click “read more”…

We are a biased group of judges – not much point trying to hide it. And since we all have a thing for cars, and Jaziel Valladares Herrera just happened to create a stunning icon of one of the world’s fastest and most beautiful automobiles, the winner of IOTY (yeah, we made it into an acronym) wasn’t a very difficult choice.

Congratulations to the wonderfully talented Jaziel, with his stunning Bugatti Sang Noir icon, available for free download over at deviantart. You win… nothing. But hey, wear the icon of the year title with pride – it will look awesome on your resume…

3 Step LetterPress Text Effect

Chuck Lockhart (Zavose) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:59:05 +0000

An increasing trend in graphic design at the moment is the use of the Letterpress style, which we have utilized throughout our designs on this website. This style is a fantastic (and simple) way in which to create a clean, minimalist effect in your designs.

Follow this simple tutorial below, or alternatively if you’re not really the tutorial type, download the layered PSD file which we have provided below this post, and simply copy the layer style into your designs

1. Choose your Font:

Begin by typing out the desired text on a new PSD file. Choose your font carefully – the Letterpress style works better with a thick, bold font. We have used Myriad Pro, however for other quality, free fonts click here.

2. Apply the Layer Styles:

Apply the following Layer Styles to your text (Layer > Layer Style > …)

Drop Shadow:

Inner Shadow:

Gradient Overlay:

3. Apply a Background Gradient:

The Letterpress Technique looks better on vivid backgrounds, so choose a bright and vibrant gradient overlay to complete the image. Below we used colour #224d73 and #5bc7e0 to create an Adobe Photoshop CS4 style effect.

And that’s it, you’re done – an easy and painless text effect in under a minute. Download the layered PSD file below for additional letterpress styles.

Download Layered PSD File