Web design trends 2009 Part 1: Badges
Subtle elements and new layout ideas for 2009. My guide on how to make your website look fashionable and unique, packed full of information and further resources.
Part 1: Badges
Relatively new, badges are probably one of the most used elements in modern Web 2.0 design. Visually pleasing and attention-grabbing, they serve the important purpose of communicating key pieces of information. Web Badges are typically used to promote special offers, promotions or Beta messages. They come in vibrant colours and are deceptively effective in drawing visitors' attention.
Examples:
www.zerohex.org | www.ajaxload.info
You can even create your own web badge online without any graphic design experience. FreshBadge and Web20badges are free tools that allow you to specify shapes, colours and the text of your customised badge. If you purchase the Content Management System with any Switchplane website you'll be able to upload your badge to any page on your site.
For
those with a little graphic design experience, you can download and
edit badges from Webresourcesdepot.com
using a graphic design program such as Adobe Photoshop, Paint Shop
Pro or Gimp (free image-editing software). Boxedart.com
and Vectordiary.com
have tutorials on how to create and edit badges in Adobe Photoshop.
