Fudgegraphics | for lovers » Web

FYI Monday: Gorgeous Vintage Inspired Designs by Kelli Anderson

Franz Jeitz — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:19:06 +0000

This post is part of the For Your Inspiration Monday Series showcasing the most inspiring designs out there. Each week a new artist or design style will be presented in order to get your creative juices flowing for the upcoming week. I hope you enjoy the series. Kelli Anderson is an artist/designer based in Brooklyn, New York. I first came across her work on Dribbble and knew that I had to find out more. Kelli’s a master when it comes to vintage inspired typography designs and illustrations. She makes it look so easy and effortless, but anyone who’s tried his hand at this style knows that it’s not. Also, I’m particularly fond of her portfolio and blog design. It’s super sweet. So, for more inspiration make sure to visit kellianderson.com and give her a shout on Twitter.

Fudgegraphics gets a facelift (v7)

Franz Jeitz — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:01:31 +0000

It’s been a long time coming, 18 months to be precise, Fudgegraphics presents itself with a shiny new look. Those following me on Twitter or checking what I’m up to on Dribbble will know that I’ve been working on this new design for quite a while now. As every designer will tell you: You Are Your Worst Client! I knew that, which is why I never predicted an exact release date. It would be ready when it’s ready. That time is now.

Why get a new design? Why re-design instead of re-align?

The simple answer is: I got bored of the old one and didn’t think that it reflected my personality anymore. Long before I started with the webdesign work (you know, sketching, researching and all that) I made the decision to update my logo. This turned out to be the hardest job ever. Over the years this blog has gained a loyal fanbase and coming up with a new brand image is never an easy task (Gap anyone?). For months I’ve been working on different designs in Illustrator, only to come back a few weeks later not to like it anymore.

The main aim was for the logo to be:

recognizable
effective in both gray scale and colour
heavy typography-based
having that vintage touch
flexible

So here we are. See below the final evolution of the brand spanking new Fudgegraphics logo.

Once set on the logo it became clear that this should be the main focal point of site, resulting in a rather minimal design.

What’s new then?

The first thing returning visitors will notice is that the site is dark now. While this isn’t as text-friendly as a light website the decision to use it nonetheless was based on the fact that most articles on the blog are highly visual. There have never been long discussion-type articles (apart from this one) and as such the dark colour scheme didn’t raise much concern.

The other major change is that the post excerpts now sport thumbnails. There’s still a few posts which haven’t been updated with their own featured image. As you can image this is a tedious task.

In terms of general layout, not much has changed. It still uses a right-aligned sidebar, horizontal navigation and the icon blogroll in the footer. I was always happy with the general layout and didn’t want to confuse visitors too much.

No design blog re-design would be complete without a custom 404 page. Here’s mine (hopefully this is the only time you will see this page).

Under the Hood:

These tools were used to design and develop the site:

Pencil and paper
Adobe Illustrator CS5
Adobe Photoshop CS5
Coda (by Panic)
Firebug (Firefox plugin)

Fudgegraphics is powered by WordPress and uses the HTML5 Doctype as well as some fancy CSS3 properties.

Final Words

I hope you enjoyed the look behind the scene of the new design. Should you encounter any bugs then please let me know and I’ll do my best to fix them promptly. All other suggestions are welcome too.

FYI Monday: Gorgeous Designs by Paul Lee

Franz Jeitz — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 07:53:56 +0000

This post is part of the For Your Inspiration Monday Series showcasing the most inspiring designs out there. Each week a new artist or design style will be presented in order to get your creative juices flowing for the upcoming week. I hope you enjoy the series.
Paul Lee is a designer working out of Los Angeles, California. Clients include Adobe, Lexus and Google to name only a few. Paul’s design style is a mixture between illustration and digital art, combining geometric shapes with organic textures and vibrant colour schemes. If you enjoy his work make sure to visit Paul’s portfolio for more inspiration.

Best April Fool Jokes on the Web

Franz Jeitz — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:01:02 +0000

As a kid I always loved the 1st of April and all the jokes that come with it. What changed between then and now? Well, nothing really. Except, rather than coming up with my own pranks I decided to feature the best online April Fool Jokes of 2010. I’m sure this is only the tip of the iceberg, so please leave a comment and share your favourite joke this year. One thing is for certain though: Google are king when it comes to April Fools.

Click the images to view the articles in its entity. Note that some of them might be removed after April 1st.

Youtube introduces TEXTp:

Wife Selling featured on Wikipedia:

Yahoo News launches Prescription Windscreen:

Macworld claims Apple is dropping Macs:

Thinkgeek introduces iCade for the iPad:

Google launches Translate for Animals:

Google changes name to Topeka:

Google Streetview now available in 3D:

Envato launches of GIFtuts+:

Buckingham Palace for Sale on Young London:

Why You Should Subscribe to Fudgegraphics

Franz Jeitz — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:03:53 +0000

In an attempt to get more subscribers I’m trying to do it the in-your-face way with a huge RSS button. For those who are already subscribed to fudgegraphics: well done! For those who haven’t signed up yet let me tell you why you should do so:

It’s completely free
You will never miss a post or freebie again
You get full feeds on fudgegraphics not just excerpts
Read the updates in your favourite feed reader or get them via e-mail
It saves you time

If you’re new to RSS feeds don’t fear it’s really easy to set up. Either download one of many desktop based readers such as NetNewsWire or open a Google Reader Account which you can access anytime and anywhere. Alternatively you can subscribe for e-mail updates.

Make sure to visit Colorburned’s 127 RSS Feeds that all designers should subscribe to.

2nd Showcase of the Fudgegraphics Flickr Group

Franz Jeitz — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:39:48 +0000

With over 100 members in the Fudgegraphics User Showcase Flickr Group it is time for another roundup. I hand picked my favourite designs submitted which I want to show you now. If you wish to be featured in a future showcase all you need to do is join the group. Thank you very much to all the members and their inspirational designs. This article is for you!

News: Fubiz Redesign

Franz Jeitz — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:28:29 +0000

Fubiz.net was one of the first blogs I subscribed to when I got into the designer blogging world. It is run by Romain and offers the latest inspirational designs and videos. The content is available in French and English. And did I see they are an infinite source of inspiration? Usually I would not write about a site redesign, unless it is this site of course, but this time I make an exception. First of all the new look is gorgeous. Secondly the way the new design is presented is incredible. Instead of showing simple screenshots of the new vs. old site they made a video. This is an original and creative concept that I had to share it with you. So here goes:

November News: Minor Redesign and more

Franz Jeitz — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:17:14 +0000

As you can see fudgegraphics got a slightly new look. The main content area has not been changed, but I felt the header needed some spicing up. I actually used on of the paper textures which you can get here in case you missed them. Anyways, I hope you like the new look.

With the design come a few new features. They are all about RSS. You now have to option to subscribe to fudgegraphics either via your regular reader or you can get all the updates via e-mail straight to your inbox. Furthermore I finally added the feed count widget. I was thrilled when I broke the 1000 subscriber barrier and I hope to break some more soon.

Fudgegraphics is participating in a competition to become the next Blogging Idol hosted by Daily Blog Tips. 125 blogs have registred and the contest ends on the 30th November. While there is a jury giving points for the best blogs you also get rewarded for having the biggest increase in subscribers. They even got a Live Score Board where you can follow the contest. At the moment I’m ranked second and hope that with your help I can reach the top spot. So please consider subscribing to this blog if you haven’t done so. That way you will never miss a post and are always the first to grab those tasty freebies you all love so much.

Speaking of freebies. I want to know which freebies you like most. I am open for all suggestions and will do my best to create and share it with you. If you want to have your say you can visit (and join) the fudgegraphics user showcase on flickr where I have prepared a discussion topic for your freebie requests. Or you can leave a comment on this post. In case you want a more personal way of telling me what you want you can always contact me via Twitter.

That is all for now.

Artists’ Tea and Coffee Appreciation Group on Flickr

Franz Jeitz — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:54:17 +0000

I’m a self-diagnosed tea and coffee addict and I am not ashamed about it. I know that many artists, be they designers, musicians, photographers or other got the same problem. Without our daily dose of cafeine we just don’t function. In order not to be alone with that burden I decided to open a flickr group where I invite you all to post your “I-drink-tea/coffee-self-portraits“. I believe this is a nice way to get to know each other a bit better. After all we’re a big and happy family. Join the Artists’s Tea/Coffee Appreciation Group now.

Please update the feed

Franz Jeitz — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:23:37 +0000

I am very sorry for this post. During the technical difficulties fudgegraphics suffered from last week the feed address got lost. Please make sure you are subscribed to the feedburner feed. Thank you very much!