Alpha Blog DesignsThe specialist in custom blog designs

CSS is powerful when placed in the right hands. Isn’t it?

Nevertheless, it has a long way to go before web designers and developers have the freedom of expression that print designers have.

One of the greatest limitations surrounds typography.

Although progress is being made, we’re still nowhere near achieving the freedom the print designer has.

Having said that, there are certain typographic effects, which are available to web designers (without the use of scripts and hacks), that most aren’t making use of.

One of them is ‘Drop Caps‘. Read the rest of this entry »

Firstly, I want to say “thank you” again, to everyone who supports this site. I’m glad I’ve been able to get to know some of you a lot better over the course of the past month, via email.

If you’re a reader of this blog, and you haven’t been in touch, please send me an email to say “Hi”. I love hearing from people.

We’ve now completed two months here, and glad to be able to say that we’ve more than doubled traffic and subscribers from the first month, which is good.

If you’re new, here are a few of April’s top articles:

• 24 Checkpoint Signs Your Obsessed with Web Design
• 1 Reason Why You Need to Give Your Web Site a Hickey
• Defeating the Enemy - How To Conquer You

and of course, our free WordPress theme. Read the rest of this entry »

A bad workman always blames his tools.

So they say, and who am I to argue.

Most of us these days, are extremely consumer orientated, and gullible. We upgrade our computers more frequently than we have too. We buy clothes we don’t really need, and we buy the latest software versions when we have no need to.

We fall into the trap thinking these things will improve our quality of life, and our efficiency. The truth is, they rarely do.

Just ask Bob…

For you designers out there, which pride yourself in your CS3 (myself included), you’ve got to check out at least one of the videos below. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I was emailed by a student of design, asking me to answer a couple of questions.

One of the questions was,

“What are the skills and attributes to succeed in your career [design]?”

What a probing question!

To be honest, I didn’t answer it immediately. I was busy, and I didn’t want to give half an answer.

When I eventually did reply, below is what I wrote. And, if I do say so myself, herein lies 3 key prerequisites for designers who really want to succeed: Read the rest of this entry »

Have you got a C.R.A.P. design?

(I tried hard to resist beginning with that question, but I just couldn’t).

Some of you may be aware for the acronym (or is it an acrostic?) C.R.A.P. which outlines four solid principles for design:

• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity

It’s nothing new. However, it’s a powerful base from which to judge and polish up a design, and I highly recommend you to take the principles on board if you do any sort of design work. Read the rest of this entry »

You possess knowledge. You have ideas. You wish to share them. You start a blog.

So evolves another failing blog among the millions. But why will it be a failure? Basically, there’s more to success than luck. Leo Babauta, Brian Clarke, and Skellie didn’t just get lucky.

Follow these steps, and you’ll learn how to turn your trickling visitors into hundreds, and eventually thousands of raving fans. Read the rest of this entry »

Finally!

Looking for a cool, and different WordPress theme for free? I present to you, Excel. Voila!

Some of you who have been following me prior to this blog, will see similarities in this theme. I released a theme in November last year, almost identical to this, and I have been selling it for $20 from then until now, with 100% of the proceeds going to charity.

With the help of proceeds from the theme, my uncle has smashed through his initial target of £4,000.

Now, I may release a theme in the future, which will help to raise more money for charity, but for now, I’ve pulled the initial theme off the ‘market’, revised it (made it better), and I’m now releasing it for free to you all. Read the rest of this entry »

Talk about blogging/design burn out!  Check out what’s going on here:

• A premium theme almost ready for release.
• Setting up a subdomain, and working out documentation for the premium theme.
• Setting up a forum for premium theme users.
• Sitting on a free theme which is about to be released.
• In the middle of a project for a client.
• Working out the future path for Alpha, and getting us there.

So it’s busy, and although the site is only a handful of weeks old, yesterday we cruised through the 2000 uniques barrier (not a social media spike). I’ll keep cranking out the best content possible, so stay tuned. Read the rest of this entry »

(Note: this is a fairly long post, but read it carefully. I hope it inspires you to quit messing around, and get your act together). 

Do you ever feel like almost everyone is ‘making it’ except you?

Do you ever get frustrated, because you know you’re better than what you get recognised for?

We’ve all been there. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. In fact, I was barely into me teens before I was in a position where, if I wanted anything, I was going to have to work and save up for it myself. Read the rest of this entry »

We designers, are a sad bunch in many ways (in the eyes of regular people). Particularly web and graphic designers. For us, ’socialising’ is hooking up with someone on Skype!

But hey, can you imagine the world without us? Without structure, function, and all sorts of eye-candy pleasantness?

Nevertheless, maybe you’re concerned about becoming over-the-top and obsessed, and that’s not something you want to inflict upon your loved ones? Here are 24 signs which will help you monitor your ‘design obsession health‘. You may discover you’re already over the edge! Read the rest of this entry »