Coding and Design Tips & Tutorials

It’s quite liberating to be your own boss. We’re talking about flexible schedules, not missing out on important events, and controlling your work environment. It’s even more exhilarating knowing that you’re spending most of your days working on something you’re truly passionate about and know it will make a difference one day. When it comes to the technology world, graphic design has long been a career choice to stimulate creativity and make a real difference. 

Here’s why learning graphic design will help you feel empowered:

Web design has become one of the most crucial components of web development dynamics. If you’ve ever thought about getting into web design, it’s probably because you’ve got a creative streak or at least want to. Web design is made up of many exciting parts, including creating your first website and establishing the right layout to attract your audience. This involves thinking outside of the box, learning how to design, and finding the right elements to develop precisely what you’ve imagined. 

If you’ve always wondered what web design is all about and what it takes, here’s a little crash course: 

"Say Whaaatt?"

That’s right—the Yellow Pages—get over it!

Well, some businesses already have; but fascinatingly enough, for many others, the mindset around their local online listings has not changed since the days of the Yellow Pages.

Many of us have been there

Social media has so many options; it’s like standing at an elaborate restaurant buffet, asking, “Where to start?”

1. Slowly with an appetizer?
2. Dig into the side dishes?
3. Or go hog-wild and dive straight for the Buffalo wings, pizza, and desserts?

So let’s clarify

In order to narrow down your starting point and develop an effective social media marketing strategy, you have to understand what your choices are, what each offers, and how to leverage them.

Having this solid understanding is essential because social media marketing is as varied as it is indispensable. For many businesses, it's no longer an option, and it’s incredibly lucrative when done correctly.

In part 1 of this post, Effective Marketing Using Social Media, we got a good overview of the top four choices people have to augment their marketing strategies with social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

We likened it to a buffet table packed with choices, but unlike a buffet, social media is no longer optional; it is essential that businesses actively use and engage in social media.

But just using social media isn’t enough! To be successful, you need to know about effective marketing strategies: which ones work best for you, and how to leverage those approaches to your advantage. 

Since established almost 30 years ago, Python has become one of the most popular programming languages. Current tech giants like Instagram and Spotify use Python to create smooth functioning and better user experience/interface (UX/UI). Python essentially has three main uses: web development, data science (such as machine learning), and scripting.

Many of the top modern-day tech companies are choosing Python, and rightly so. Here are the top 5 apps built with Python:

With so much consumerism in today’s era, getting your message out has never been more challenging. While lots of visual data is published on social media every day, there are far fewer motion apps or web-based platforms that can help drive more traffic. Companies today are considering implementing motion graphics more than ever. Animations can be used in every platform and for every type of business, strengthening company messages and brand awareness. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

Visual design is way more than just appearance, providing essential tools for creating marketing perfection. While design is crucial in today’s world, it is often underestimated in the business world for its effectiveness and capabilities. Learning visual design can help boost your company’s marketing and messaging through high-end visual communication to better inform and educate potential clients.

Here’s what you need to know:

What is SVG?

SVG stands for scalable vector graphics. It’s an XML-based coded file format that enables us to use vector graphics in webpages.

Why Should You Optimize SVG Files?

Design apps such as Sketch, Adobe XD, and Illustrator code SVG files differently. Some produce cleaner code than others. Regardless of what app codes the SVG file, it’s likely that the code can be further optimized, offering cleaner code and a smaller file (which downloads faster). Loading speed is important because website speed is one factor that affects your website’s Google ranking.

Optimizing SVG files can have other benefits. Once we had an SVG file that Illustrator didn’t like. The SVG was exported from Sketch, and we were trying to open it in Illustrator. We got an error message and it appeared wrong in Illustrator. After optimizing the SVG file, it imported without error and looked correct!

What are Variable Fonts?

Variable fonts are a new kind of font that allows for amazing new levels of flexibility. With just one font file you can alter thickness, width, or just about any attribute you can think of... all while keeping the file-size small (important for websites).

Do not limit your thinking to the standard options that you’ve seen before (bold, italic, extended, condensed, etc.). Font designers can make variable fonts do all sorts of cool things!