Design

Facebook

Creative Facebook Covers and Template

Your Facebook page cover image is a small billboard for promoting your business or yourself. This small marketing tool is the first thing people view when they land on your page, so it pays...
design tools i love

A few graphic design tools I love

Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet I was hesitant to purchase a Wacom tablet because the one I had years ago just didn't work very well - actually it pretty much sucked. After hours...
Design is thinking made visual

Lessons learned in the design world

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder It isn’t always easy to design for multiple clients, especially when they have tastes that aren’t always parallel to your own. I strive to...
create mood boards for inspiration

Create branding inspiration with a mood board

Every small business has something to offer which is unique to their brand. Branding builds trust because it creates consistency. Businesses that are solely based online have often don't take the...
free stock photo image

19 free stock photography websites

Is your website in need of some stock photography? Most websites could use some great imagery, but many can't afford to hire a professional photographer or purchase quality stock photographs....
Adobe Fonts

Combining fonts successfully

Fonts are funny, we love them yet if we use them without restraint they look out of control and unprofessional. Combining fonts successfully isn't hard if you follow a few...
sliders

Can I talk to you about sliders?

No, not the tasty little hamburgers. I'm talking about the slideshows on a website that rotate through a series of photos. There are thousands of different slider plugins out there,...
What is web design?

What should be on your homepage?

Exactly what should be on your homepage is a question we get asked often here at Sumy Designs. The homepage is the virtual front door to your business. It performs...
website breadcrumbs

A few elements of a great website

Presence The design of your site is the first thing potential clients will see. It is always good advice to avoid the cheap, self-building websites and hire a professional web...
web page design myths

Must-have design elements for your website

If you want your website to stand out then your online presence must be outstanding. There are far to many dull and boring websites in the world - you don't...
Map

Do I need to find a web designer in my town?

I once had a call from a potential client. They were starting a new business and needed a website. They weren't local to my town, but about an hour away....
How often should I redesign my website?

How to prepare for your website’s redesign

We get a lot of clients who just want their sites redesigned. Often, a client knows their site needs updated, they just don't know where to begin. Here are a few...
small business website

How to know if your website needs a redesign

Just like with all technology, websites need to be updated on a regular basis. If you aren’t sure if your site needs a redesign or not, take a look at...
confetti

Colors for the web and colors for print

Working together with web and print designs can be tricky and learning how color works can be the key to getting a successful color calibration for both your website and...
unicorn

What’s the difference between web design and web development?

Sometimes I refer to myself as a web designer. Other times I refer to myself as a web developer. But what's the difference? It's pretty simple once you boil it...
Lorem Ipsum

A few websites I love

COLOR: I find color inspiration all over, but a couple websites I find myself heading back to over and over are Plenty of Colour, which is a daily design blog devoted to...
Web Design Agency

Consulting with Professional Website Designers

Whenever I meet someone new and we talk about our jobs, the topic comes up of what exactly do professional website designers do? It includes so much more than just designing...
WordPress Web Design

Are you looking for a WordPress website designer?

I get a lot of inquiries from people with existing Wordpress sites but are looking for a Wordpress website designer. Wordpress is a great content management system, and everyone tells you...
not_my_type

Typography trends in web design

Typography trends in web design used to be boring, but that is not longer the case. Fabulous creations such as Adobe Typekit and Google fonts allow for websites to fun and creative. Below are...
author website design

Designing websites for the first five seconds

Recently, Amy and I attended WordCamp in Chicago. It was a fantastic experience and we got to sit in on some pretty amazing conferences. One of the conference sessions, presented by...
iconfonts

What are Icon Fonts?

Icon Fonts use the @font-face rule in CSS to embed TTF, EOT and similar font formats into a web page. Basically, they are fonts that look and function like social...