Articles by: chriscoyier
Toolbox CSS
May 7, 2008 by chriscoyier
What is Toolbox CSS? Toolbox CSS is styling information that has nothing uniquely to do with any particular website. These are a collection of common styles that can be useful on any web project. How many times have you written a class for clearing a float? Too many, is my guess. The idea with Toolbox CSS is to include a separate stylesheet for these “utility” styles. [Continue reading this tutorial] Read More →
Grid Based News Designs from Down Under
May 6, 2008 by chriscoyier
It was only a few months back when I was excited to see that Web Designer Wall had released one of their excellently produced design compilations, Grid and Column Designs. After a quick examination of the whole article I was quite impressed at how many of the popular designs were brought together in a few simple categories and how those designs had managed to elegantly use simplicity and some organization to show their content. It was about a minute after my first glance that I realized that some... [Continue reading this tutorial]
Camera RAW vs. JPG: A Photographer’s Perspective Roundup
May 2, 2008 by chriscoyier
If you own a DSLR camera, it is likely because you are either a professional photographer or a photography enthusiast. Either way, you want great digital photos and a DSLR is the only way to get them. You might already be shooting in RAW, because of all the post-processing options you have. But is RAW really the right choice for your workflow? This is a heated debate amongst even very professional photographers. Here are some different opinions on the subject. [Continue reading this tutorial] Read More →
Photoshop: Working with CMYK Ink Density
April 29, 2008 by chriscoyier
If you design for print, and specifically for materials that will be printed on traditional offset lithography presses, you either already know about Total Ink, or really should know. In offset lithography, your designs are replicated on paper by little dots of ink of various colors (typically, Cyan / Magenta / Yellow / Black, or “CMYK”, and “spot” colors). These little dots of ink hit the paper in what is known as a halftone pattern. If you bust out your loupe and take a... [Continue reading this tutorial]
Photoshop: Which Anti-Alias Setting is Best?
April 24, 2008 by chriscoyier
Without going into too much gory detail, anti-aliasing is the term used to describe how the edges of shapes get rendered with pixels. With anti-aliasing turned off, pixels are either just “on” or “off” and you see jagged edges. As we will see later, in some scenarios turning off anti-aliasing is the best option. With anti-aliasing on, the edges of shapes have semi-transparent pixels applied to give a smoother appearance. But as you can see in Photoshop, anti-aliasing isn’t... [Continue reading this tutorial]
The Importance of a Simple Online Resume + Free Template
April 21, 2008 by chriscoyier
In this day and age, it’s not just graphic designers and programmers who really benefit from having a simple online resume, it is anyone on a serious job-hunt. (Although, if you are a designer or programmer, you should really have one.) Here’s why: 1. It shows you go the extra mile Potential Employers are definitely looking at all angles of you when you apply for a job. Having a personal website, however simple, is a sign that you take some pride in yourself and that you take things... [Continue reading this tutorial]
