My name is TECHNOLOGY http://technews2u.wordpress.com Want to make FRIENDSHIP with me............ Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:57:55 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ en hourly 1 http://www.gravatar.com/blavatar/ef522c71a4b5cbced00c4a70253796a3?s=96&d=http://s.wordpress.com/i/buttonw-com.png My name is TECHNOLOGY http://technews2u.wordpress.com Free Design Templates http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/free-design-templates/ http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/free-design-templates/#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:42:39 +0000 mohangoud3669 http://technews2u.wordpress.com/?p=92 ]]>

Free design templates don’t have to be unattractive, inaccurate and boring. Some web-sites offer high quality templates for the best price you would ever get – for free. You can download Flash-based templates as well as CSS-based layouts absolutely free; furthermore, you can use them for your personal and commercial projects without any restrictions whatsoever. Still, before using some of the templates, throw a glance at the license agreements – they’re changing all the time.

You may want to take a look at our related posts

Free CSS-Based Design Templates

Weblog Templates

]]> http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/free-design-templates/feed/ 0 mohangoud3669 Five More Principles Of Effective Web Design http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/five-more-principles-of-effective-web-design/ http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/five-more-principles-of-effective-web-design/#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:37:55 +0000 mohangoud3669 http://technews2u.wordpress.com/?p=87 ]]>

Web design has significantly improved over the last years. It’s more user-friendly and more appealing today — and there is a good reason behind it: over the years we’ve found out that design with focus on usability and user experience is just more effective. Modern cut-edge design isn’t filled with loud happy talk and blinking advertisements. We’ve learnt to initiate the dialogue with visitors, involve them into discussions and gain their trust by addressing their needs and speaking with them honestly and directly.

Few weeks ago we’ve presented 10 Principles Of Effective Web Design — a comprehensive article about effective web design and provided you with insights about how users actually think as well as with some examples of how effective designs can be achieved.

This article highlights 5 further principles, heuristics and approaches for effective web design — approaches which, used properly, can lead to more sophisticated design decisions and simplify the process of perceiving presented information.

Please notice that you might be interested in the following usability-related articles:

  • 10 Usability Nightmares showcases usability nightmares you should avoid when designing functional and usable web-sites,
  • 30 Usability Issues explains important usability issues, terms, rules and principles which are usually forgotten, ignored or misunderstood.

1. Use an effective marketing principle

In order to sell a product or a service you need to be able to effectively inititate the dialogue with random visitors of your site. Since your visitors have actually come to your site, they are willing to hear to you and learn what you have to offer. So how do you approach this potential clientele to maximize your earning at the end of the month?

Suggested by Strong in 1925, AIDA is the effective marketing model which describes a common list of events that are very often undergone when a person is selling a product or service:

  • A – Attention (Awareness): attract the attention of the customer.
  • I – Interest: raise customer interest by demonstrating features, advantages, and benefits.
  • D – Desire: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service and that it will satisfy their needs.
  • A – Action: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing.
  • Nowadays some have added another letter to form AIDA(S): S – Satisfaction – satisfy the customer so they become a repeat customer and give referrals to a product.

In this context customers should notice that AIDA is usually the way how potential buyers are tricked into buying products or services they actually don’t need. To gain users’ trust designers need to make sure that the site provides genuine information and there is no hidden context in which the content can be understood in a different way.

It’s also more effective to offer visitors concrete arguments, situations and ideas of how a product or a service can be used instead of bombarding them with loud and empty ad-slogans.

Consider the example presented above. traffik follows the AIDA principle. If the visitors expect some information about a Content Management System they expectation is immediately confirmed with a brief introduction at the top of the site. Thus, potential customers are attracted and remain on the site (Attraction, a). The interest is then raised by showcasing features and benefits of the product (Interest, i).

To communicate how the service will satisfy user’s needs the brown info-block at the right hand at the bottom of the page is used (Desire, d). Finally the users are guided to “Take the tour” and “Free 30 day trial” buttons which attempt to lead customers towards purchasing (Action, a).

A lot of other models are known in order to sell, e.g. the BOSCH-Formula (developed by Peter Hubert):

  • Be inquisitive, ask open questions
  • Offer solutions, talk about the endresult benefits for the customer
  • Stimulate the senses, let the customer test your product
  • Cross your sales, think of all the necessary accessories
  • Hit the closing point, sell when the customer is ready to buy.

2. Experiment with few colors

Dark body copy on white background and light body copy on black background are passive. Vibrant colors can help to highlight some specific elements of the site which you’d like to point users’ attention to.

However, you don’t need to use a vibrant palette to create an effective web design. Sometimes it’s useful to pick a moderate number of colors and use them efficiently. Thus your visitors will immediately see what’s more important. It will also be easier for you to focus their attention on the most important areas of the site.

Sidebarecreative.com uses only one dominant vibrant color — blue color stands for links, buttons and clickable elements. White stands for important information which summarizes the content of the current page. The rest is the content of the site with some light blueish hover effects. Excellent, modest and expressive use of colors. That’s effective.

Wilson Miner uses green, blue and pink. The dominating green color looks fresh and comforting. Blue stands for the links and pink for the hover effect. Notice the structure of the site. Although only few colors are actually used, one can immediately recognize clickable areas and detect the different sections of the site.

3. Strive for Balance

In web design balance is important because it provides users with some sense of closure and gives the feeling of permanence and stability. Balanced designs are easier to digest and to understand, because they create a visual hierarchy which clearly displays what is more important on the web-site and what is less important.

Apple’s design is probably one of the best examples of the symmetrical (also called formal) balance. Single design elements have either very distinctive (above) or very similar (below) weight. They are placed on both sides of an imaginary vertical line on the page which goes through the middle of the user’s screen. The design is rather static and restful which makes it easier for the visitors to comprehend the information which is presented through it. Result: balance creates a simple visual harmony.

Why is Apple’s design so efficient? Because it’s user-centric and product-centric. The design of Apple’s site resembles a theatre stage where visitors are the audience and the product is the entertainer. Notice that the site presents only the product and nothing else. Apple manages to initiate the dialogue offering only most important options.

Signalfeuer.info uses an asymmetrical (informal) balance which allows for the more dynamic use of white space (and this is probably the main advantage of asymmetrical balance). The left block is smaller than the right one, however the site offers a very strong balance by using an impressive and balanced grid. Also the choice of colors is quite impressive.

According to the article Principles of Design, “asymmetrical balance may be unequal in position and intensity. To create asymmetrical balance, there must be an increase in intensity to compensate for the change in position. Intensity can be increased by changing size, shape, or tone. For a particular job, the designer might choose to position the elements to one side of the picture plane. The white space opposing must then act as a counter-balancing force.”

This is exactly what has been done on Avalonstar.com. Notice the different shapes of blocks and “hanging” heading of the blocks. White space functions as a counter-balancing force to the content presented on the right.

Grid-based approach can be helpful or even necessary for achieving balanced design layouts.

4. Strive for Clarity

Independently of the design approach, the clarity of both layout and presented information should be given one of the highest priorities in the design process. If there is any chance of misunderstandings and ambiguious titles make sure to get rid of them or specifiy explicitly what is meant. Being more specific is usually better than being less specific.

To achieve clarity you don’t need to make use of “standard” design layouts or basic templates. Risk design experiments if you want to, but keep the clear visual hierarchy and structure of the site’s content in mind. The more organized your categories are, the easier it will be for your visitors to find their path through your site.

Hovie.com displays an unusual yet very clear design solution. The site consists of five blocks; the first one stands for the main menu which appears when the site is loaded. Sub-menu appears when some section in the main menu is selected.

The current position is displayed by arrows next to the selected option in the navigation menu. In the content area a brief description and the caption of the images displayed above is presented. The design is consistent throughout all pages. Is there any possibilty to somehow misunderstand the design? Not really. That’s simple, clear and effective.

Another example: Astheria.com focuses on white space and has a balanced grid-based design solution. Although the design is rather subtle and uses only one appealing color, you can see immediately where you are now and what options are available. Power of typography at its best. Unfortunately, the site doesn’t display which links have already been visited (Update: Kyle Meyer has added :visited-state now).

5. Address your users’ needs

As web-developer you have the primary task to comfort your visitors, addressing their needs and providing them with sufficient clues for seamless and intuitive navigation. However, to achieve this you need more than just considering an average profile of your users and stick to the decision he/she will be happy with.

To maximize your exposure you have to consider various types and profiles of your visitors. You need to identify major groups and offer each group the functionality its members would be comfortable with. That doesn’t mean that you need to create multiple versions of your web-site; it rather means that you can integrate multiple levels of user interaction in one single design layout.

For instance, according to Shneiderman’s principles of User Interface Design, it’s important to enable frequent users to use shortcuts — to increase the pace of interaction use abbreviations, special keys, hidden commands etc.

Ffffound.com offers both usual navigation and a Javascript-based keyboard navigation. This functionality is not directly seen to newbies who can browse through the site in a usual manner. Advanced users, however, are able to navigate more efficiently. Of course, you need to make it explicit and clear how to use any advanced functionality and what benefits it offers.

Another possibilities would be bookmarklets, toolbars or some specific tools such as e.g. Flickr uploader. Offering these tools you’ll offer your users easier ways to use your service and they’ll have no need to search for alternatives.

Conclusion

Effective web design doesn’t have to be colorful and pretty — it needs to be clear and intuitive. Make sure you help your visitors to understand the benefits of your web-site and offer them an easy way to explore and use your site.

Symmetrical and asymmetrical balance can be helpful in achieving a solid and clear design solution and thus provide a foundation for rich user interaction. To maximize your exposure, consider different types of users and offer them multiple levels of user interaction which would bring them back to your site.

]]> http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/five-more-principles-of-effective-web-design/feed/ 0 mohangoud3669 A Top 10 Killer Photoshop Combo Moves http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/top-10-killer-photoshop-combo-moves/ http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/top-10-killer-photoshop-combo-moves/#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:14:03 +0000 mohangoud3669 http://technews2u.wordpress.com/?p=70 ]]>

By Tom Giannattasio

Is time kickin’ your ass? Well, learn to defend yourself! Master these killer Photoshop keyboard combos and you’ll find yourself with more time for the important things (e.g. Facebook trivia questions). These combos assume you’re using Photoshop CS3 on Windows platform with default keyboard shortcuts.

Legend:
( ) = Repeat as desired
{ } = Manual Input Required

10. Cloak of Invisibility

Remove everything from the screen except for your file.

  • F, F, F | Cycle through Screen Modes
  • Tab | Remove Tools and Palettes
  • Ctrl+H | Hide Extras (Grid, Guides, Slices, etc.)
  • Ctrl+R | Hide Rulers

9. Quick Brush Jab

Quickly and easily customize a brush. This combo is a staple for digital painting.

  • B | Brush Tool
  • Right-Click and Select or F5 and Select | Open condensed or full Brush Palette
  • or . or , or Shift+. or Shift+, | Cycle through brushes or jump to first or last brush
  • [ or ]: | Shrink or enlarge brush radius
  • Shift+[ or Shift+] | Decrease or increase brush hardness
  • {Numeric Input} | Change brush opacity (e.g. ‘5′ = 50%, ‘55′ = 55%)

8. Quick Brush Jab Path Stroke

Stroke a path with a customized brush.

  • {Draw Path} | Use any tool to draw a path
  • B | Select Brush Tool
  • Quick Brush Jab | Use the Quick Brush Jab Combo to customize brush
  • Enter | Stroke the path with your customized brush

7. Gaussian Attack

Apply a filter, fade it and apply again. Good combo for fine-tweaking filters.

  • {Apply a Filter} | Manually choose and apply a filter (warning: using the Lens Flare filter may result in a swift kick to the mouse balls)
  • Ctrl+Shift+F | Fade the filter
  • (Ctrl+F or Ctrl+Shift+F) | Reapply filter with or without dialog box

6. Shadow Maker

Create a basic shadow based on a chosen layer.

  • {Select Layer} | Select the layer the shadow will be created after. The transparency of this layer needs to resemble the desired shape of the shadow.
  • Ctrl+J | Layer via Copy
  • Ctrl+[ | Move layer down
  • D | Reset color defaults
  • Alt+Shift+Backspace | Fill with black and preserve transparency
  • Ctrl+T | Free transform
  • {Transform} | Modify to your liking
  • Enter | Commit

5. Layer Catcher

Select, group and mask layers. Often easier than using the layers palette.

  • V | Selection Tool
  • Ctrl+Click or Ctrl+Shift+Click or Ctrl+Shift+Right-Click | Select your layers
  • Ctrl+G | Group Layers

4. OCD Layer Sort

Rearrange your layers quickly and easily. Great cure for you neuroticism.

  • F7 | Show Layer Palette
  • Alt+[ or Alt+] or Alt+, or Alt+. | Select a layer
  • Shift+Alt+[ or Shift+Alt+] or Shift+Alt+, or Shift+Alt+. | Select more layers
  • Ctrl+[ or Ctrl+] or Shift+Ctrl+[ or Shift+Control+] | Move layers down or up or send to bottom or bring to top

3. Ultimate Flattener

Merge All Layers (even those hidden). Quick way to flatten a file.

  • Alt+. | Select Top Layer
  • Shift+Alt+, | Select all layers between currently selected and bottom layer
  • Ctrl+E | Merge the selected layers

2. Infinite Dupe

Duplicate and evenly distribute or transform items. Nice way to distribute something like nav buttons.

  • Ctrl+T | Transform
  • {Transform/Move} | Manually Move or Transform
  • Enter | Commit Transform
  • (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T) | Duplicate and transform relative to the newest item

1. Finishing Move – The Web Extractor

Extract a selection and save it for the web. Extremely useful when pulling individual elements from a design, such as buttons or rules.

  • {Create Selection} | Select the area you want to extract
  • Ctrl+Shift+C | Copy Merged to clipboard
  • Ctrl+N | Create New Image based on selection size
  • Enter | Confirm New Image
  • Ctrl+V | Paste from clipboard
  • Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S | Save for the Web

About the author

Tom Giannattasio is a Web Designer/Flash Developer living in Bethesda, MD. In his free time, he enjoys reading, philosophizing, digital painting and going to the zoo. To view a sample of his work, visit his website at www.attasi.com.

Editor’s note

This post is one of the finalists of our guest author contest. Over three weeks selected top-10-lists and discussion articles will be published. To rate the articles we’ll analyze their popularity, users activity, quality of backlinks, traffic and further data.

]]> http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/top-10-killer-photoshop-combo-moves/feed/ 0 mohangoud3669 When it comes to electronics, enjoy the view http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/when-it-comes-to-electronics-enjoy-the-view/ http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/when-it-comes-to-electronics-enjoy-the-view/#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:41:50 +0000 mohangoud3669 http://technews2u.wordpress.com/?p=56 ]]>

For those who love their tech and gadgets, the following news will offer welcome relief. For those who don’t know the difference between DVR and VOD (which is most of us), the same news will also offer welcome relief.

So what single new trend in consumer electronics could possibly make both geeks and novices happy? What novel development could bring together the opposing needs of calculator-worshipping types and and overworked parents alike?

In a word, “beauty.” We all appreciate it. We all smile in its presence. Whether it’s a Van Gogh or a Frank Gehry or a Heidi Klum or a George Clooney, beauty has been a source of fascination since there have been human beings to ogle it. A little late to the party, the consumer electronics manufacturers have realized we normal people like beauty, too.

So, for the first time in gadget history, the TV, MP3, digital camera, home theater and electronics accessories manufacturers have all agreed with Apple that technology must (drumroll, please) look nice. Seriously. The crusty, dusty era of gray boxes as far as the eye can see may, thankfully, be over. You might not have noticed yet, but in addition to Apple’s already-legendary devotion to the beauty of the box its technology works in, brands like Sony, HP, LG, Nikon, even Dell (yes, Dell!) have agreed that things have changed.

Consider Sony’s Bravia line of televisions, which came out recently with this interesting option: replaceable frames. Yes, while Sony’s TV technology is cutting-edge and its picture is unsurpassed, Sony decided to give buyers an option to change how their TV looks. The concept: optional, replaceable frames that can be dropped in around the screen. You can get the “Rose Metallic” bezel, the “Arctic White” metallic bezel, the “Pacific Blue Metallic” bezel,” and so on.

Before I even mention other manufacturers’ efforts to make attractive products, I can already hear the snickers — “A sure sign that the Apocalypse is upon us,” you laugh, “when TV manufacturers start trying to sell you optional picture frames.” Maybe. But think about it: A new 52-inch flat-screen television takes up a solid 12 square feet of your wall (4 feet by 3 feet). If it’s ugly, that’s a lot of ugly. Would you voluntarily buy 12 square feet of ugly art and hang it on your wall?

Of course it’s not just Sony (LG and Samsung now offer a new “Scarlet” and “Piano Black” series, respectively), and it’s not just televisions. Consider the lowly desktop computer. Long considered a box so ugly and so aesthetically orphaned it didn’t even justify placement on your desktop (people usually hide them under the desk), consider the HP Blackbird 002 Gaming Desktop. Built in cast aluminum and wrapped with big cooling fins not unlike those you’d see on a high-end audio amplifier or a power substation, the Blackbird is even named after something cool and beautiful — a spy plane.

Granted, appeal to some of us is the fact that HP simply canned the ugly old gray box design, but still — with pretty, renovated kitchens decked out in stainless steel and other metals these days, isn’t it nice to think that there’s a computer that can sit in the kitchen and actually look good?

And the list goes on — camera manufacturers were among the first to embrace the idea that people wanted their technology to be attractive (consider the hugely popular Olympus Stylus series of point-and-shoots, which come in a range of colors), and after TV makers followed suit, so did MP3 makers and even home theater manufacturers.

How did this happen? First, and as usual, women were the ones to drag men out of the aesthetic desert. Last year, for example, and for the first time in tech history, Best Buy reported that more than 50 percent of all TV sales were either directly made or directly influenced by women. And as electronics have become a more central part of an average home (where women make many of the final aesthetic decisions, according to the Consumer Electronics Association), manufacturers took note.

But another influence was, and is, the ingenuity of the manufacturers themselves. In the case of the Olympus Stylus, it wasn’t easy to fit electronics into such an odd, curved shape. So the engineers actually had to figure out how to produce a contoured (and still functional) circuit board to fit under the contoured skin of the camera.

But as with any big trend, there has to be a leading, bleeding edge, and this is it: Called SteamPunk, it’s a new subculture of devoted tech-heads who not only long for beauty, they long for the simplicity of an earlier time. So they’re beginning to create old-fashioned veneers, skins and surfaces for their brand-new electronics. Imagine a computer keyboard covered in keys from a Royal typewriter, circa 1949. Or a flat-screen computer monitor, framed in Victorian brass fittings, circa 1895.

Is it your style? Maybe, maybe not. But frankly, it doesn’t matter. Because this much is true: At least it has some. When it comes to electronics, this is not something I thought I’d ever say: “Enjoy the view.”

]]> http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/when-it-comes-to-electronics-enjoy-the-view/feed/ 0 mohangoud3669 Hello world! http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/hello-world/ http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/hello-world/#comments Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:13:11 +0000 mohangoud3669 ]]>

hi, this is Mohan. Site is under construction……..

coming soon…….

]]> http://technews2u.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/hello-world/feed/ 0 mohangoud3669