wallpaper

15 Wonderful Handpicked Desktop Wallpapers

September 2, 2010 By Hyde

As someone who spends many hours behind the computer writing and creating websites my desktop wallpaper is very crucial to me. I’m very picky with my wallpapers, they must inspire me but not distract me or bore me very fast.

I like to take inspiration from things right in front of me or around me and wallpapers tend to give me that. The wallpapers I use tend to match the weather a lot, I’m sure a lot of us do that. With autumn coming up which I find the most inspiring season of them all I picked at least 7 dark themes wallpapers. A few colored ones for those who rather have a cheerful desktop and a few simplistic ones.

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Friday Focus 07/16/10: The Many Faces of Paper

July 16, 2010 By Sophia Lucero

The many different textures, colors, and treatments for paper allow infinite possibilities for their use in websites. Not one of these designs look remotely alike, and that keeps things very interesting. Happy Friday Focus!

Designs of the Week

Great idea to do a slideshow that spans the whole background. Looks much less artificial that way.

Everything looks impressively blended in: the logo, Facebook icon, drop-down navigation menu, and tabbed navigation.

Needs refining, but looks pleasant.

Love the navigation background as a torn section of the paper, and you can see the brown wallpaper pattern peeking through.

Excellent hover effects and that overall “big” and “scrapbook” feel.

Love the glowing flame on the logo and the large navigation. I just have some issues with the text padding in the inner pages.

Delightful, delightful details. Love the custom borders most of all.

I like the way the borders and section headers blend into the paper, like faded newsprint.

There are tons of paper textures, but few bother to design with corrugated paper. Especially this way, with the cutouts, layers, and shadows.

A visual and literary feast!

I think it’s great that the video thumbnails have frames that echo the overall look, and the video player interface almost disappears from view.

The page title isn’t so prominent, and there are no visual cues for the navigation in the header, but all the collages look fascinating, if a little overpowering.

Some alignment problems here and there, plus the map background image is a little distracting (could be lighter or darker), but good call on the drop down menus.

I really like the styled translation/localization flags! And pretty much every detail on this site—everything falls into place nicely.

The detail on this design is great, although the font choices for the headers are a bit tired. Not pictured but the animated thing going on in the footer isn’t as refined as the graphics above, looks awkward.

The shadow is a little too heavy, but the tabbed slideshow looks amazing, perfectly blended! Using the red wax seal effect for the social media icons is a good idea too.

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Friday Focus 01/22/10: Folded Out and 3D

January 22, 2010 By Sophia Lucero

This week on Friday Focus: these folded, boxy 3D-looking designs pose an interesting challenge to the designer in creating perspective and breaking out of boundaries. See how these websites did it!

Designs of the Week

Big, colorful, chunky, and grungy. It almost feels wrong to see “normal” sans serif text fonts here and there!

I like the use of the elegant type and wallpaper background against the less elegant ropes, folds, and tears that (which all are done in moderation).

The shadow is not so believable, but I like the look. It’s quite different from the other folded/blocky/3D ones that focus on adding folded ribbons and boxy-fying things up.

Love the icons and the color palette.

The W3C has its own subtle application of the design pattern. Clean, clear, and lovely.

Cute little chimney effect (that isn’t Flash) going on in the header. The design looks a little busy, but I like it.

Now for something unbelievably simple, but still striking and attractive. One of those designs where the design practically goes unnoticed because it’s so subtle.

This isn’t a particularly attractive site, but there are enough attention to detail and typography that gets the job—of making the stories readable—done.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a super shiny, “Web 2.0”-style design. Bring on the pastels!

I think it makes sense for the design to be so gray and dark because the backgrounds in the gallery are so colorful.

When you’ve got products presented in boxes, a boxy-looking design feels like a natural progression, doesn’t it? What I really like is the footer treatment, which looks like a few sheets of paper with two angling out of place. Not necessary but a very nice touch.

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Friday Focus 10/30/09: Orange for Halloween

October 31, 2009 By Sophia Lucero

We have some pumpkin-colored sites this week on Friday Focus, just in time for All Hallows’ Eve. Enjoy!

Designs of the Week

The top half is all about the work, while the bottom half contains supporting information from other sections of the site.

I never tire of this blocky, 3-dimensional style. The “request a free quote” tab at the top is a nice touch.

I love the navigation buttons in the header. The dark flowery wallpaper background is a bit weird though. But overall, I like the ample use of textures here.

Clean and light with just a touch of grungy textures. Lovely.

The use of hovers to switch between different chunks of text in the portfolio carousel was confusing at first, but it’s all good.

I enjoyed this website. Modern and airy with a touch of warmth thanks to the orange and the owl. The text only needs to be a notch larger.

I really like this color scheme! Plus the whole translucent and outlined graphics.

Orange, red, and black—I don’t think there’s any stronger color combination than that! Since it looks like this is a legal site, it’s great that the designers made sure the text is easy to read.

The best part of this site is that you can actually rate each item in the portfolio. Then in the client panel at the top, they’ve got the top rated designs and some great articles for resources.

Social Media Weekly

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Friday Focus 10/23/09: Enjoy the View

October 23, 2009 By Sophia Lucero

This week on Friday Focus: websites that will make you want to get in the car or on a plane and head to these exquisite destinations. At least we can enjoy their views from within our own browsers!

Designs of the Week

I really like are the way the popup menus are designed. Even better is the way the background images load first, and then the content area fades into view.

Great lighting in the header, and the way the color of the wood background makes the photos pop.

You don’t have to pepper your site with concrete representations of what your site is all about, and this is a good example of that. Makes for an elegant yet still outdoorsy look.

I’m not sure exactly why you’d use a strap in such a prominent place such a header but it certainly looks different. Love the interactivity of the menus on the left. Another brilliant feature: the execution of the map menu on the right side.

Huge photos. Excellent typography. I’m just not sure about the wallpaper background.

Clean and modern. The labels on the photo itself are a great and necessary touch.

This design reminds me of Obama’s online branding, and it looks so elegant. This isn’t even a travel destination site, but it definitely makes you want to go there.

I like the textured background in the logo, and the way the photos fade at the edges.

Social Media Weekly

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15 Wonderful Handpicked Desktop Wallpapers

Friday Focus 01/22/10: Folded Out and 3D

Designs of the Week

Social Media Weekly

Friday Focus 10/30/09: Orange for Halloween

Designs of the Week

Social Media Weekly

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