Photoshop & Illustrator
Convert Raster Images into Vector Images
The ability to convert a photograph or graphic (a raster image) into a scalable vector image can be crucial to providing functional cross-platform support—particularly for the mobile Internet. In this tutorial, I will show you several methods for...
Custom Floral Typography in Adobe Illustrator
Typography that includes floral elements is an increasingly popular trend that can improve an otherwise bland website. In this video tutorial, I will show you how to create custom floral typography in Adobe Illustrator CS4. The simplest way to...
How to Create Ribbon Elements in Site Design
A popular trend in website design is the ribbon element. These stylish ribbons can be used to add depth to any site and give it a professional look and feel. In this video tutorial, I will show you how to create both horizontal and vertical ribbo...
Make Your Own Google Buzz Icons
When Google launched its Buzz service to compete with Twitter and Facebook status updates, many web developers added a Buzz link to their sites. In this video tutorial, I will show you how to create several Google Buzz icons in Adobe Illustrator ...
Use Blending Modes to Apply Textures in Photoshop
Understanding Blending Modes in Adobe Photoshop will help you understand your design's potential and lead to a better end result. In this tutorial, I will show you how to use Blending Modes in Adobe Photoshop CS4 to apply a logo to a cloth textur...
Creating Basic Grunge Design
Grunge design elements are one of the most popular trends in modern site design. Knowing how to create grunge elements can be a useful tool in any designer's tool belt. For perhaps a decade, designers have frequently traded sleek and shinny web ...
Designing Graphics for A Content Slider
Screen real estate is an increasingly important topic in the world of ecommerce. Finding the best way to use screen space can be the difference between a one-time visitor and a lifelong customer. Content switchers or sliders are an excellent way ...
Make Shopping Cart Icons in Adobe Illustrator CS4
One of the more popular icons on ecommerce sites is, of course, the shopping cart icon. Shopping cart icons can help personalize the online shopping experience. In this video tutorial, I will show you how to create several shopping cart icons usi...
Brushed Metal Effects in Adobe Photoshop
Understanding design trends and how to recreate popular effects for your site projects can lead to a better site design and overall theme. In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, I will show you how to create a brushed metal menu bar from scratch, simi...
Adobe Photoshop's Powerful Clone Stamp Tool
Knowing the tools that are at your disposal for editing and polishing images is important for any web developer. The Clone Stamp tool in Adobe Photoshop CS4 is a simple to use, and its useful for making advanced modifications to images. Using th...
Vector Maps Using Custom Illustrator Brushes
When you develop for retail clients with physical stores, you are almost certainly going to need to create a "location" section, complete with a map to a physical address. In this video tutorial, I will show you how to create a custom vector map i...
Sale Icons in Adobe Illustrator CS4
Letting potential customers know what's on sale will help boost conversions. So in this video tutorial, I will show you how to develop several "Sale" icons in Adobe Illustrator CS4. First, I will show you how to create a rounded rectangle and mo...
Creative Typography: How to Create Glowing Text
Knowing how to effectively use stylized typography is an important aspect of any site and could improve many ecommerce sites. In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a unique glowing text effect in Adobe Photoshop. First, I will show y...
Manage Custom Palettes in Adobe Illustrator
If you frequently use Adobe Illustrator, you might find yourself continually recreating the same swatches and gradients. Learning how to create and manage your own custom swatch palettes can be a helpful way to save time and trouble in Illustrator...
Parchment Paper Effect for Site Design Details
Sometimes while navigating the web, we come across sites that have excellent design elements and we wonder "how was that made?" In this tutorial, I will show you how to recreate the paper parchment element located behind the site logo of Emotion ...
Develop User Icons in Adobe Illustrator
With a global marketplace comes the desire for ecommerce sites to communicate in more than one language. One way to address this challenge—at least where common site navigation is concerned—is to develop icons that do the communication for you. As...
Make Photoshop Work Better
If you use Adobe Photoshop enough, you may realize that it is an advanced program that can use a lot of system resources. In this tutorial, I will show you how to optimize Photoshop to maximize performance and usability. First, I will show you...
Batch Processing in Adobe Photoshop CS4, Part 2
Sometimes simple batch processing is not enough, and you need to know how to apply a series of advanced processes to multiple images. In part two of this two part series on batch processing, I will show you how to create your own Actions in Ado...
Develop YouTube Icons in Illustrator CS4
YouTube is the most popular video-hosting website. Having a YouTube channel, and an icon to go along with it, is a good way to promote a site's video content. This is especially true for product demonstration videos or for videos that show how t...
Batch Processing in Adobe Photoshop CS4
When working with multiple images, it can be useful to know how to edit all of them simultaneously. This technique, known as "batch processing," can save you valuable time and help streamline the development process. In this video tutorial, I wil...