From the Twitter Stream

If you like these links, be sure to follow me to get these updates throughout the week @chadmueller.

Followers

@rob_e_bowen

@elysuimburns

@flarup

@8Interactive

@NaorSuki

@tinyHippos

@cookielabs

@philmatthews

Web Articles

Increase Conversions in 45 Minutes

Progressive enhancement: pure CSS speech bubbles

Google Apps Marketplace: 6 Great Apps to Try Now

7 Ways to Make Wordpress an Even Better CMS

Freelancing Together

The Ultimate iPhone Setup for Web Designers (40+ Apps)

Showcase of Transparency in Web Design

Web Finds

BaseKit

Rain Creative Lab

akio

Jeroen Homan

From the Twitter Stream

If you like these links, be sure to follow me to get these updates throughout the week @chadmueller.

Followers

@kantrow

@meat99

@ADAwards

@redlemonclub

@newsdesigns

@remixcreative

Web Finds

Canada takes the gold in hockey, eh?

StyleBoost

Lyrically Noted

Vancouver 2010 Part 1 & Part 2
Photo journal of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics

Where We Design

Fly Sleepy

Web Articles

Ask the Expert – Speaking About Startups with Collis Ta’eed of Envato

55 Colorful Web Designs to Inspire You

Tutorials

Photoshop & Illustrator Tutorial: Learn gorgeous new shading skills

Create a Filterable Portfolio Page in WordPress with jQuery

From the Twitter Stream

If you like these links, be sure to follow me to get these updates throughout the week @chadmueller.

Followers

@core77

@SignalnoiseArt

@jsmibert

@adellecharles

@clayhebert

Web Finds

Public Speaking Tips That Will Improve Your Next Presentation

Typography quick tips

A Guide to Creating Professional Quality Logo Designs

z8 – I love the subtle interface elements here

Retro Music Posters

Web Articles

Earn More Money by Growing Your Freelancing Business

A Showcase of 50 Amazing Personal Blog Web Design

Why I Failed at Freelancing

Tutorials

WordPress Breadcrumbs Without a Plugin

Display Separate Counts for Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks

Submissions

Internationally recognized design firm Duffy & Partners has  launched a new gallery on their ‘Fresh Ideas’ section of their Web site inspired by the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The gallery features products, designs, colors and ideas with Olympic ties that are impacting design and tastes globally outside of the Winter Games. Take a sneak peak behind the scenes of Duffy to see what makes these great designers tick.  I’m sure its something that you and your readers would find very interesting!

Mariano Photo

From the Twitter Stream

If you like these links, be sure to follow me to get these updates throughout the week @chadmueller.

Followers

@jQueryStyle

@rocketgenius

@stulogy

@tasteofinkprint

Web Finds

Inspiration – Beautiful Vintage Advertisements

A Showcase of Workstations that’ll Make You Jealous

Behold, the Lost Art of Inglourious Basterds

Square’s On-the-Go iPhone Credit Card Scanner Will Cost $1

tuneglue – very cool music discovery app

mo’stash

tapmates

Web Articles

Small Tips and Blips To Create Your Brand

8 Tools for Common Client Web Design Requests

Agencies, Labs, Studios, Media, Interactive and Creatives: The Many Names Of A Design Business

How to Build Web Cred as a Designer

Tutorials

Adaptable view – how do they do it?

Image Rollover Borders That Do Not Change Layout

Cross-browser drop shadows using pure CSS

Date Badges and Comment Bubbles for Your Blog

From the Twitter Stream

If you like these links, be sure to follow me to get these updates throughout the week @chadmueller.

Followers

@MoonApe

@tuhinkumar

@visualswirl

@paper_leaf

Web Articles

Design Trends Used in Action Movie Posters

Weekly Inspiration: 25 Design Agencies you should know – N.4

Effective Visual Communication Using Infographics: 40+ Attractive Examples

35 Inspiring Examples of Transparency in Logo Design

How iPad Affects the Way we Design Websites?

10 Signs You Need to Expand Your Team (and How to Do It)

15 Tips for Designing Terrific Tables

50 Inspiring iPhone Application Websites

The Ultimate Website Prelaunch Checklist

66 Examples of Perfect SlideShow Presentation in Web Design

Tips for Designing Unique and Attractive Blog Posts

50 Inspiring Portfolio Designs

Web Finds

InspirationTime – Beautiful website, I have always thought about doing something like this on Inspiredology

Dustin Curtis Lifeline - Very cool idea here

Web Without Words - Dissecting popular sites

Free Vector Social Media Set

Tutorials

Wordpress tutorial:how to apply a dynamic body class or ID

Custom CSS Per Post

Winners from the Birthday Bash Giveaway

Here is our contest post http://inspiredology.com/birthday-bash-giveaway/

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest! And don’t worry if you didn’t win, there will be more great giveaways coming up!

First Prize – Jeff

Jeff says…

Happy Birthday!!!!!!

I listen to House Music…usually a set recorded live from a DJ. One track about 70-80 minutes long. Without being able to forward to the next track allows me to continue working without any interruptions.

Second Prize – Steve

Steve Fowler says…

The main piece I like to listen to is The Alan Parson’s Project: The Definitive Collection

Third Prize – Nick

Nick says…

It all depends on what I am working on. If it’s something like logos I tend to listen to something like John Mayer. If I am doing posters and stuff I tend to go towards something like Fall Out Boy. Shirt graphics would probably be Underoath. So basically any music will do just try to match some music to the project!

From the Twitter Stream

If you like these links, be sure to follow me to get these updates throughout the week @chadmueller.

Followers

@ilove2design

@simpledesktops

@Larkef

@logocritiques

Web Articles

Six Revisions takes a look into registration buttons.

Vandelay Design – 40 beautiful corporate websites

Color Theory For Designers, Part 2: Understanding Concepts And Terminology – Smashing Magazine

Web Finds

Simple Desktops is a collection of minimal distraction desktop wallpapers curated by Tom Watson.

Tutorials

How To Design An Abstract Wallpaper In Photoshop (and Illustrator) | Sprye Studios

Most Commonly Used WordPress Code Snippets – Dino Latoga

WordPress: Tips, Hacks and Extras – doc4design

Dynamic Columns – Digital Mash

Make All Links Feel Subtly More Button-Like – CSS Tricks

Maybe Your Blog Needs to Fail from Brandon Cox on Vimeo.

Submissions

Everyone submit your content!

We’re always willing to post submissions that we think our readers will find inspiring.

muellerchad [at] gmail.com or dertmobile [at] gmail.com

Christian Garibaldi emailed in his new business card design.

Matteo Modica at Sublimio sent in their new portfolio site.

We’re also always up for design related interesting press releases!

Hugo Boss Design Contest!

Unleash your creativity to make the world a better place. HUGO Fragrances has teamed up with environmental organization Pur to plant a tree in Peru’s Amazonian Rainforest for each special edition HUGO Man and HUGO Element fragrance sold. From January 2010, HUGO Fragrances lovers can support the sustainability initiative One Fragrance, One Tree just by purchasing their favorite perfume. The Peruvian plantation sponsored by the Boss/Pur project covers 800 hectare (three times the area of NYC’s Central Park). Each special edition packaging includes a unique “tree code” to allow customers to view the location of the tree their purchase sponsored.

Designers, illustrators and photographers can also make a great contribution to this reforestation project by creating a visual and spreading the word. Visuals should contain the HUGO Man bottle and convey a strong concept in line with the theme One Fragrance, One Tree. Be creative, use your imagination as well as the technique(s) of your choice. The 10 winners receive $500 and global recognition. The visual of the round winner will be published in style magazine i-D.

Deadline is February 28, 2010 and the winners will be announced on April 1, 2010. You can find more information and examples by other participants on the HUGO Create website.

HUGO Create: http://www.hugocreate.com

One Fragrance, One Tree: http://www.hugo.com/1f1t

From the Twitter Stream

If you like these links, be sure to follow me to get these updates throughout the week @chadmueller.

Followers

@jQueryStyle

@designinstruct

@stugreenham

@iheartwordpress

@jay_hollywood

@1stwebdesigner

Web Articles

The Smashing Book Review | FreelanceFolder

50+ Beautiful Websites with Great Colour Schemes | Inspired Magazine

90+ Remarkable Examples of Bold Colours in Web Design | Elite By Design

7 Tips for Negotiating a Freelance Contract | FreelanceSwitch

45 Elegantly Designed iPhone App Websites | webtoolfeed.com

Textures In Web Design: Examples And Best Practices | Spyre Studios

Group Interview of WordPress Theme Sellers | DesignM.ag

Web Finds

Interview by Design

The Eco News iPhone Application | Ecoki

nclud – Nice Portfolio Site

Four24 – A really nice website – love the large typography

customToronto.ca – A really nice e-commerce site

Awesome Note iPhone App

Tutorials

How to Improve Web Order Form Designs | Onextrapixel

55+ Most Wanted WordPress Tips, Tricks and Hacks | WP Beginner

3 Simple Image Enhancements in Photoshop | pixel8

Using WP_Query to Fetch Posts in WordPress | bavotasan.com

Create a Fantastic Abstract Fan Poster | Tutorial9

Inspiredology Sneak Peek

If you have been following my twitter stream, you will have already noticed this, but a few days ago I tweeted a preview of the new Inspiredology. If you want to stay up to date be sure to follow me @chadMueller, I will be tweeting some previews of the site as we get further along the design.

Check it out

1. Choose the right destination.

Choosing a destination that you will get the most out of is important but is sometimes difficult to plan. If you haven’t been to a place before, how will you know what it is like? Honestly it can be kind of a hit or miss, but if you want to maximize your creativity, you probably don’t want to go somewhere that is exactly like home. The more different things you can plunge into, the more new things you can learn. For example, if you travel to a destination where you don’t speak the local language, you might learn how to communicate more effectively with your hands and facial expressions. This forces you to get creative with your body language and trains your mind to process information in a different manner.

2. Leave your preconceptions and opinions at home.

If you carry stubborn opinions locked and loaded to spring onto others, you are only going to block the potential absorption of a new perspective. Whether it be political agendas, religious beliefs or even cuisine preferences, try to be as flexible and understanding as possible. You don’t want your brain to be stale and hard like an old sponge. You want to be able to absorb all the new ideas you’ll encounter. You don’t travel abroad to learn what you already know. You will be much better received if you are interested in learning about the lives of others. In return for your curiosity and interest, locals will begin to open up and show you a side of themselves that foreigners wouldn’t normally see. Being close minded will only hinder your creative potential, while being open to the unknown will propel you to exciting new places.

3. Immerse yourself in local culture.

Get off the beaten path. In touristy areas, there are usually cultural facades that have been tailored by merchants and salesman to appeal to foreigners. Most of the time, this display of culture does not accurately represent the true essence of what a place is. Try to move past the tourist gimmicks and experience the culture for yourself. Jump in and talk to the locals. Even if you don’t speak their language they will engage you in one way or another. Talking and relating to people opens up the door to a more accurate reality of a place. The spirit and soul can be revealed through simple interactions with locals. Don’t be afraid to try different foods, absorb the scents and smells, learn a new dance, or generally make a fool of yourself. This will awaken senses and emotions that you never knew existed before, allowing a new breeding ground for your creativity to blossom.

4. Start a collection of materials.

Begin to gather a collection of symbols, cultural icons, patterns, textures, colors, fabrics, etc., to use as a reference in the future. These can be used to spark your creative thinking for future projects. Take plenty of photos, but be respectful and ask permission when necessary. Try to note the meanings of what you collect. Ask yourself questions like: why is this pattern the way it is? What does this deity represent? Why do people wear this color all the time? These inquiries will help you gather ideas and the answers almost act as glue to stick all the different puzzle pieces together. You will start to see how things relate to each other and you will gain a better understanding of the culture.

5. Keep an active journal.

I think this applies to all fields in the creative world. Whether you’re a writer, painter, poet, designer or photographer, you need a medium to filter and record your experiences. In an environment that is 100% foreign to everything that you are familiar with, nearly every interaction or encounter will be new to you. Every day you are introduced to new thoughts and your brain is constantly working to connect recently awakened paths of understanding. If you fall behind in writing or recording your thoughts, they will certainly fade into the depths of your subconscious. These records and notes can re-kindle your creativity with memories, feelings, and emotions that have been brought back to your conscience. This can be used as a tool when needed to recall your experiences.

How does travel enhance your creativity? Do you have any tips of your own to add? Your suggestions and comments are more than welcome.

From the Twitter Stream

Followers

@freeloadthis

@matcarpenter

@KarenMcDade

@RobertoBlake

Web Articles

How to Increase the Value of Your Design Services for Clients

How to effectively organize, manage and maintain your freelance design business

Top 10 Best Social Media Presentations

10 New WordPress Wanted Hacks and Powerful Techniques

Design Trends (Predictions) in 2010

40+ Taglines and Hero Areas by Designers and Agencies.

Design and Build Email Newsletters Without Losing Your Mind (and Soul)

Redesign Vs. Tweaked Design: What’s Best for Your Website

Web Finds

CoolVibe

iSites

Jay Hollywood

GeekTyrant

Tutorials

Create a Grungy, Translucent Web Portfolio Design

25 Tutorials and Resources for Learning jQuery UI

How to display latest posts from a single category in Wordpress

Portfolios

Schmidt Studio

Carol Rivello

Submissions

ComparePSD is a utility for graphic designers that compares 2 Adobe PSD files layer-by-layer, effect-by-effect and highlights the differences.

Imagine. You need to find the file with that unmerged effects among the heap of 2 mb files which were called hastily ‘Untitled1.psd, ‘Untitled2.psd’, ‘Untitled2_a.psd’. And now you have to open every single file, wait for it to load, scroll through it, and then find the effects you was looking for. Sounds familiar?

Moleskin

The new paper band design for 2011 planners helps to identify planners as distinct from other Moleskine collections and help consumers easily find what they are looking for in the multitude of Moleskine products. Each paper band now includes three languages and display new colors to identify the planner collection and its layouts.  With larger icons and descriptions on the paper band a shopper can quickly find what they are looking for.  If more information is needed, the Visual Code appears on the back band for reference.

MorgueFile – A new public image domain

Shaboopie.com

From the Twitter Stream

Followers

@WordCampToronto

@UsabilityDesign

@skrug

@bigspaceship

@SkinnyShips

@freeloadthis

Web Finds

mockingbird – a really simple wireframe app

project bubble – a very fun simple project management app

WordCamp Toronto – Who’s going?

Setup Your Personalized Google Apps Suite – I recently did this, and it was really really simple

Digital Podge – Measurable Fun

verb – Another nice simple Project app

Headway Themes – Is this the future of WordPress?

Web Articles

24 UX Articles to Start 2010 – UX Booth

The Philosophy of Design – Tripping Words

More on Hiring People To Write For You – Is it time to get more people on board with Inspiredology?

Getting Inspiration from Admiration – Build Internet

How to Kill Your Business: 30 Day Payment Terms - John O’Nolan

Tutorials

Contactable – A jQuery Plugin

The Right Way To Build WordPress As A Community – I really want to add a community news section to Inspiredology, can anyone help me with this? Let’s talk @chadmueller

Bulletproof Post Thumbnails in WordPress 2.9 – Matt Brett

Create Custom Options Panels with WordPress 2.9 – Build Internet

Inspiredology

I am working hard on the new Inspiredology redesign… I am adding some new features that I have been wanting for a very long time. I need some help, if anyone knows how to add a Community News feature using TDO Mini Forms, if you can help please let me know @chadmueller or muellerchad[at]gmail.com.