The use of textures can dramatically improve your print design work. You can (if used sensibly) add more depth to your work, whether your work be business cards, advertisements or posters. The results of using texture in your print design projects can be completely different every time, depending on various factors such as what textures you use, how many textures you use, and how you apply them to your work.

This post showcases a great selection of print design projects that make good use of textures; making the work more visually appealing. The showcase is followed by a small selection of useful links and resources.

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Sweets and chocolates have been around forever! This post takes a look at vintage and retro advertisements of some of our favorite treats, past and present. These advertisements range from the very early 20th century (1900′s) all the way up to the mid-80′s with the newest advertisement showcased here being from 1984. We will be looking at some of the trends and styles used; many of which are still being used today.

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Most genres of books tend to have "styles" and "trends" that they follow, just like most other types of work such as web design; it becomes the norm to follow these trends. Romantic novel book covers tend be a bit cheesy and predictable. This post looks at a small selection of cheesy romance novel covers, and lists some essential elements for if and when you ever find yourself designing one of your own!

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Psychedelic art (as you may have guessed) is a type of artwork inspired by psychedelic experiences that are brought on as a side-effect by various drugs and substances known as hallucinations. The art movement began in the 1960′s (known as the “hippy years”) where sex, drugs and rock and roll played a huge role in the culture, and before long this artistic style was being used in concert posters, album art covers, comic books and newspapers. One particular style of psychedelic artwork was inspired by the hallucinations experienced by a drug called LSD, which was known for its kaleidoscopic patterns, similar to those the younger generation experienced with the popular kaleidoscope toy.

As life moves on everything is becoming digital, and over the years digital psychedelic art, although not in vogue, has been slowly increasing in popularity. Bright colors and fractal patterns are fairly easy to produce on a computer, so it only makes sense that psychedelic art is being produced digitally. This showcase presents thirty unique, interesting and out-of-the-ordinary colorful and psychedelic inspired artworks. What’s your favorite, and do you think digital psychedelic art is the way to go, or will it never be quite the same as those produced with traditional media? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of the post!

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There are various ways an application (or more specifically, a widget) can be presented to its users; some bad, some good and some tremendously well. Other than a widgets purpose, its user interface is the most important aspect; it makes the widget look good and (hopefully) makes it easy to use, making it compelling and user friendly, which is what all application developers should be aiming to achieve. Dashboard widgets are actually relatively easy to make, and most web designers/developers can produce them without much difficulty. They are developed using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, meaning everything that is possible on the web, is possible in a dashboard widget, making it relatively easy to achieve a great looking and easy to use widget.

This inspirational compilation post showcases a collection of 32 creative, unique and easy to use Apple Macintosh Dashboard Widgets, including a selection of default widgets that ship with your Apple Mac, and a good handful or two of third party widgets.

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People are often inspired by what they see on TV. Sometimes we’re inspired by characters, sometimes costumes, sometimes scenery, or maybe just the storyline. This article showcases a huge collection of TV series fan art, from modern hits such as Lost, House and CSI, to some going a little further back in time such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Trek. The showcase is full of different kinds of art, from traditional pencil sketches to modern digital illustrations. These are sure to inspire!

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