Top Destinations for Freelancers on Every Continent - envato.com coupon

Five brilliantly ugly Christmas sweater patterns - envato.com coupon

It’s nearly Christmas time again, and you know what that means: it’s time to bring out those brilliantly awful Christmas sweaters.

It’s the only time of the year when it’s socially acceptance to don a monstrously colourful, over-the-top sweater, and you’re damn right we’re going to make the most of it.

Despite Australia’s ‘White Christmas’ more closely resembling a sweltering Christmas barbeque by the pool, those dedicated to the cause will still be wearing the ugliest festive sweater they can find.

Here are some of our favourite Christmas sweater designs we found on Graphic River.

Winter Christmas Seamless Pixelated Pattern – RedKoala

There’s one simple rule with Christmas sweaters: the more colours the better. This one has it all, from reindeers to love hearts and it’s so entrancing that it’ll get you out of that awkward conversation with your uncle over Christmas lunch.

Scandinavian Knitted Seamless Pattern – Annykos

Boasting an intricate Scandinavian design, this vibrant vector is sure to bring the spirit to you annual festive gatherings.

It’s so good that even Rudolph is giving it the thumbs up.

Red Knitted Sweater with Deer Seamless Pattern – Svetolk

The simple red designs is a bit more classy than your normal Chrissy sweater and if you’re brave enough, you just might get away with it all year around.

Either way, it’s a very en-deer-ing pick.

Christmas Sweater – Oliopi

Simple, gloriously colourful and unashamedly loud, this is your classic Christmas sweater design.

North Knitted Pattern with Deers – Annzabella

Not all Christmas sweaters have to be green and/or red – why not mix it up with a blue design?

The deer is a traditional pattern for festive apparel in Norwegian, and this design is the perfect way to pretend you’re off in the Scandinavian snow.

Pug Dog Vector Illustration – Leedsn

Okay okay, so I know this isn’t technically a sweater design but it’s hard to go past a dog wearing a sweater. A dog WEARING A SWEATER. But hey, we not get a bit meta with it and make your own sweater with a pug wearing a sweater on it?

This cute lil guy is getting into the festive spirit of things just like we all should, and let’s hope that Santa brings him a big ol’ bone.

The post Five brilliantly ugly Christmas sweater patterns appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2fMFIWN
envato.com coupon

Quiz: Test your knowledge of graphic design - envato.com coupon

How much do you know about graphic design? Test your knowledge with this quiz.

 

The post Quiz: Test your knowledge of graphic design appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2fOtLTF
envato.com coupon

The glory and the power of the hackathon - envato.com coupon

50 Best PowerPoint Templates – November 2016 - envato.com coupon

Versatility has always been PowerPoint’s key differentiator from its competitors. If you need to create a presentation but you’re not sure what hardware and software will be available when you have to deliver it, Microsoft PowerPoint is always your best bet.

Besides, presenting is hard enough as it is – even for those who look cool, calm and collected in front of an audience. With that in mind, here’s to saving time choosing your template! Here’s the best PowerPoint templates of 2016 so far, as judged by sales on GraphicRiver.

Best 1 – 10 of 2016 (to date):

1. Motagua, the multipurpose PowerPoint template by Jetfabrik
2. Six Template by swanex
3. Ever, the multipurpose presentation by inspirasign
4. i9 Template System by DesignSmash
5. HappyBiz, the multipurpose business template by GraphicArtist
6. Business Plan by DesignDistrict
7. Business PowerPoint by ercn1903
8. Simplicity, the easy to edit template by SMART_PowerPoint
9. Grid PowerPoint, another popular template by DesignDistrict
10. Awesome Slides by lunik

---

Read more: 10+ Animated PowerPoint Templates to impress your audience

Best 11 – 50 of 2016 (to date):

11. Swiss Style by DMXdesign
12. Premium International Template System, another great template by DesignSmash
13. MaxPro, the business plan powerpoint presentation by ContestDesign
14. Omoa, the ultimate multipurpose template by EAMejia
15. Mercurio, two best sellers in a row for EAMejia
16. Marketofy, (another) ultimate PowerPoint template by slidefusion
17. BIGIdea, also by EAMejia
18. Business Proposal by JafarDesigns
19. Mica, the fourth (!) PowerPoint template by EAMejia in the best 20 list
20. Akuntansi PowerPoint by binangkit
21. Montuca, also by EAMejia!
22. Sketch PowerPoint Template by Perspectivaes
23. Investor Pitch Deck by Louis Twelve-Design
24. The Zero Business Infographic Presentation by ContestDesign
25. Summit 1 by GoaShape
26. UX Design Presentation Template by Bandidos
27. Lorem by ottonova
28. Corporate Overview, another best selling template by Louis Twelve-Design
29. Gravity by rojdark
30. Digital Art, the creative PowerPoint template by VigitalArt
31. Hello, the second template by ercn1903 to make the best 50 list
32. Komplet V3, is all you need according to creator, inspirasign
33. Startup X, the perfect pitch deck by GB_Studeo
34. Sociallita by kh2838
35. Infographic Survey PowerPoint Template is also by kh2838
36. Material is also by ercn1903
37. Moving Lights by Orange_Box
38. Eureka, the minimal template by Jetfabrik
39. Professional Animated PowerPoint Template by hamvec
40. Premium Cloud by DesignSmash
41. Website Dashboard by adriandragne
42. Startup Pitch by cromio
43. Stampede is also a multipurpose template and the third entry in the best seller list for creator, Jetfabrik
44. UX Modera by Bandidos
45. Mevo by vuuuds
46. Utopia by DMXdesign
47. Armonio is the sixth (!) entrant to this best sellers list that is designed by EAMejia
48. Pitch Deck by DesignDistrict
49. Marketer Pro is another creation by LouisTwelve-Design
50. PRO by as-4it

 

Related articles:

• Don’t PowerPoint your Audience to Death

The post 50 Best PowerPoint Templates – November 2016 appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2fO6Xn6
envato.com coupon

How to Best Use Video in Email Marketing Campaigns - envato.com coupon

Using video in your email marketing is a great way to increase your open rates as well as the overall engagement rate. It’s more engaging than using images and text alone, but many people are still unsure about how to include it in their email campaigns.

Up until recently, combining video and email has been challenging and time-consuming. Not only did you have to find a hosting platform for the video, you also had to create a custom thumbnail to include in your email. However, with the dawn of HTML5, the accessibility of video websites such YouTube and Vimeo, and the rise of open rates on mobile phones, it’s now easier than even to incorporate video in your email marketing campaigns.

Here are four ways to use video to its full potential.

How to Use Video in Email Marketing

1. Educate Your Subscribers

Many of us learn best when we see a product in use or when we can follow along a specific set of instructions. We prefer visual learning so using videos in your email marketing campaigns is a great way to educate your audience and make it easy for them to understand the benefits of your product or service.

How to make a What-Is Introduction video (tutorial)

In the following example, Michael Sliwinski – the founder of Nozbe – incorporates a series of training videos in his campaigns:

The goal is to help people improve their productivity habits and help them get started on the right foot with using Nozbe. Even though the email is sent right after you sign up for a free trial, it’s a clever way to ensure people sign up for a paid plan because they can immediately see practical examples of the product in use as well as get access to useful advice.

2. Give Them a Behind-The-Scenes Look

When we see how our favorite item is made, it makes us appreciate it that much more. Knowing exactly what goes into the process is a great way to show people the dedication you put into your craft and assures them of the quality and care that goes into each and every one of your products.

Monica Vinader capitalizes on this by using not only video but also animated GIFs to illustrate the process of creating one of kind jewelry pieces:

3. Speak Directly to Your Audience

A personal message goes a long way and there is no better way to achieve this than by using a video tailored to your subscribers. When you pair that with welcome emails which typically have four times the open rate and five times the click rate compared to other campaigns, you’ll soon realize the potential of including videos in your campaigns.

Consider the example from a well-known marketer Sally Hogshead from How to Fascinate:

Her welcome email is tailored specifically to each new subscriber which makes it feel more personal and engaging.

4. Engage and Excite

Using videos to promote upcoming events is one of the best ways to get your subscribers excited about it and encourage them to learn more about how they can get involved.

In one of their recent campaigns, Harley Davidson Australia used video to engage their subscribers and to inform them about an upcoming event:

Best Practices for Using Video In Email Campaigns

1. Use a still image with an overlaid play button

Embedding a video can be a little too technical for most users and to make matters worse, not all email clients have the ability to play the video directly. This can be a huge fail and may wind up costing you a few subscribers. However, you can still include an image and overlay a play button on top. The best way would be to design a custom image that represents your brand. You can use a professional intro for your video and include a still image of the opening:

2. Split test the images

Getting things right can be a little tricky, but if you take time to split test the images you use, you’ll be able to tell which images lead to better engagement rates. There’s a variety of splash screens that you can use for the image representing your video.

You can use an image of the product itself, people from your company, or your logo to reinforce your brand. Or, you could go in a different direction and consider creating a fun animated video. Whichever direction you choose, be sure to test each version and compare the engagement rates to get the most out of your campaigns.

3. Let the video do the work

Choosing an eye-catching image for your visitors is sure to grab the attention of your subscribers. And since video holds your entire message, you won’t need a lot of accompanying text.

Keep the rest of your email short and to the point to avoid unnecessary overwhelm. There is no need to repeat the contents of the video in the rest of your message since this would obviously defeat the purpose.

You can however, include a call-to-action overlay to encourage engagement and make sure subscribers know to click the video. For maximum results, be sure to include your logo so your subscribers know who the email is coming from and consider using the word “video” in your subject line as that has been proven to increase the open rate.

4. Use a GIF

GIFs are becoming more and more popular so it’s a good idea to include an animated GIF to represent your video instead of a static image. It can make you stand out even more and the good news is that they are supported across almost all email clients except for Outlook 2007-2010. Even so, Outlook will still show the first frame of the GIF so your efforts won’t go to waste.

5. Create a Landing Page for Your Video

All your hard work will pay off the most if you create a dedicated landing page on your website for your video, instead of linking directly to it on YouTube or Vimeo. It gives you a chance to provide more details after your subscribers have watched the video and you can include a call to action that prompts them to learn more by providing links to similar content on your website. You can also use it to get them to subscribe for your event or to buy your product.

6. Consider using HTML5 Videos

If you absolutely must embed a video rather than having it hosted on a third-party website, opt for a HTML5 video instead. Support for HTML 5 video is still limited but the clients that have the support for it are widely used and email clients like the native iOS client, Apple Mail, and Outlook.com will allow your subscribers to play video within the client itself. Email clients like Gmail will use a fallback image instead.

Conclusion

If you’ve been on the fence about including video in your email marketing campaigns, consider the fact that 64% of users are more likely to make a purchase online after watching a video. Use the power of video to engage and educate your target audience and include them in your campaigns to improve your conversion rates.

 

_{Featured image: primastock}

The post How to Best Use Video in Email Marketing Campaigns appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2fw4PBC
envato.com coupon

Great Design Is About Being Thoughtful - envato.com coupon

Hanukkah-Themed Designs, Patterns and Backgrounds - envato.com coupon

Happy holidays! Here’s a collection of our favorite downloadable designs and vector graphics – perfect for websites, cards, stickers, and more.

Hanukkah symbols

Set Of Jewish Hanukkah Celebration Sticker Objects

Jewish Hanukkah Celebration Card With Holiday

Hanukkah Icons

Happy Hanukkah

Rosh Hashanah, Shana Tova Flat Line Icons

Dreidel Character

Jewish Hanukkah Celebration Banners With Holiday

Judaism Elements

Hanukkah Icons Set

Jewish Cuisine Dishes For Holiday Dinner Banners

Hanukkah Seamless Pattern

Hanukkah Menorah With Candles And Coins Vector

Symbols Of Hanukkah Icons Set

The post Hanukkah-Themed Designs, Patterns and Backgrounds appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2gydsI8
envato.com coupon

Should We Really Embrace Failure? - envato.com coupon

Mapping your world: Inspiration for interactive maps - envato.com coupon

This interactive map WordPress plugin has been downloaded almost 10,000 times, and it’s been been used for a wide variety of purposes. Whether you’re looking to map your travel route, visualize data by region, or highlight your offices around the globe, this travel map is customizable and for your WordPress site.

We’ve collected a few of our favorite uses of this interactive map from around the internet – here’s some inspiration for how to create a map to tell the geographic tale of your travels, your company, or your story.

For travellers: show where you’ve been

Nomadic Matt is one of the most well-known travel bloggers on the internet, and with over a million website visitors per month, detailed travel guides, and a New York Times best-selling book, it’s easy to see why. The interactive map on his travel guides all link to the corresponding section on his website, making it easy for readers to find information on the destination they’re looking for.

30 countries traveled to, 5 continents, 3 average cups of coffee a day: blogger Stefania Gugliemi is all about the numbers. The dropdown menu on the right side of the map is a cool addition to the map, too.

Many map-makers stick with a traditional color scheme, but you don’t have to. We love Remote Silver‘s bright, cheerful, full-width map.

On the road to happiness? Travel blogger Yitzhak, of myroadtohappyness.com, uses the map to track where they’ve been.

The orange-and-blue color scheme matches the mountain logo for Jessie on a Journey.

More inspiration:

• I See Yeu
• Chicchoolee
• Let’s Travelle
• Endlessly Restless

For your story and your company: data visualization via mapmaking

Derrick Corporation & Derrick Equipment Company is a U.S.-based organization, but they’re spread around the world – as evidenced by their all-green interactive map. Each country brings up a window with the contact information or website link for the company.

A unique, functional approach: EST Analytical uses their interactive map to collect contact information and request queries for their country.

Don’t tell your customers where your projects are: show them! Oceanfront Engineering uses simple dot-points on the homepage of their projects page to showcase their reach across the world.

Alvias is a wireless network for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and the ‘internet of things’ in the Americas. They use an interactive map to show their network’s coverage. A scroll-over on the map shows the total population of the country, and the projected M2M connections by 2021.

More inspiration:

• Boyer law firm
• Gulf Extreme
• 18 Havas
• Avi Paz
• Bawk Coffee
• Roni Hicks
• Real Wealth Network
• Red LAM
• Healthy Living at Home Network
• Skyline Adjusters

Make your own map

The post Mapping your world: Inspiration for interactive maps appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2fG613S
envato.com coupon

8 Color Scheme Trends in Mobile App Design - envato.com coupon

Color schemes are an ever-changing, ever-evolving aspect of mobile app design. Over the past years, we have seen a shift in trends from heavy use of colors throughout mobile app elements, to more minimal use of color, with much more focused palettes being used. As well as this, there has been a move towards using more white space alongside high contrast, experimental colors. The last year or two has also seen subtle colors introduced for shadows, replacing their traditional grayscale counterparts that were previously so common. Gradients have also made their way back into mobile apps, this time using high-contrast complimentary colors to introduce a bold and visually impactful style to the user interface.

We are going to look further into eight mobile color scheme trends and discuss some inspiring examples which implement them highly effectively.

1. Minimal color usage with focused palettes

The above example highlights a trend with minimal color usage alongside an abundance of white space. This has been implemented perfectly, with a clear two-color palette which provides enough visual separation between linked and active elements, without going overboard with color. The use of color and whitespace aligns very well with Apple hardware and provides a cohesive feel between the software and hardware. It’s minimal but balanced and effective – a trend which looks set to continue through 2016 and into 2017.

2. High contrast, experimental colors

With the introduction of iOS 7 a few years ago, Apple began a trend which introduced very high contrast colors into mobile user interfaces. Bright pinks, greens, royal blues, and reds are now commonplace in mobil e designs, and provide a stunning contrast which is both clear and visually impactful. This example utilises the trend effectively, giving the app an exciting yet minimal and refined feel.

3. Subtle colored shadows

Another mobile design trend that has come to fruition over the past year is the introduction of colored shadows. Where previously we would see monochrome shadows, we now often see shadows consisting bright but muted colors, such as blues, pinks, and yellows. This provides beautiful visual effect, especially when placed on a complimentary muted background color such  as above.

4. Bold, bright colored iconography

In line with the trends above, it has also become commonplace to differentiate icons using bold, vibrant colors. The app above, for example, uses five separate contrasting colors to separate actions and elements. The result is an interface which is visually impactful and easy to understand.

5. Pastel, muted colors

Pastel and muted colors have been in use for a while, however we’re beginning to see some really quite stunning implementations of such colors alongside  other mobile trends. The results, such as above, provide great separation and balance, while maintaining a design which is a pleasure to use.

6. Blacks

While black is not technically a color, this trend at least reflects the lack thereof. The trend toward more minimal interface designs has brought with it the use of very minimal color usage, including often simply using black, white, and greys. The above is a great example of this, and uses them effectively without straying towards brutal minimalism.

7. High-contrast, complimentary gradients

http://ift.tt/2gsXi3Z

Gradients have changed considerably over the past few years. Where before we used to see fairly subtle same-color gradients being used for UI elements, we now see more and more designers implementing high-contrast gradients which use complimentary colors. This provides a really quite beautiful effect when used as above. The transition from blue to purple gives depth and contrast to the interface, and creates some eye -catching visual effects when combined with patterns and imagery.

8. Colorful illustrations

Illustration is becoming more abundant in mobile apps, particularly in onboarding flows. Color trends within these illustrations have progressed towards using very colorful and bold palettes. When combined with a minimal interface, this has a great contrasting effect such as above, and can really help bring a mobile app to life.

The post 8 Color Scheme Trends in Mobile App Design appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2fxKuuh
envato.com coupon

Cyber Monday 2016: 50% More Than 500+ Creative Assets! - envato.com coupon

We’re delighted to bring you our biggest Cyber Monday event ever!

 

Shop now

The post Cyber Monday 2016: 50% More Than 500+ Creative Assets! appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2fwDfTk
envato.com coupon

Inspiring Logo Designs from Freelancers Around the World - envato.com coupon

Quiz: Trips, Trends, & Quick Draw – This Week in Design - envato.com coupon

How much do you know about the trends and news in the design world this week? Take this quiz to find out!

 

This week’s reading list:

• Choosing Photos for Engaging and Optimised Content
• Latin Grammy award winner Gen Rubin on creating music for Envato
• Using Handwritten typography in web design
• Where are all the women in tech? They’re in wearables
• 6 Web Design Style Predictions for 2017
• Quick Draw with Google
• Introducing Craft Sync by Invision
• Best new art apps of 2016
• Airbnb: Welcome to the world of trips
• The Future of Design is Simplicity
• Visual Studio Launches on Mac
• How to write email with military precision

_{All images courtesy of the PhotoDune stock photo library.} 

The post Quiz: Trips, Trends, & Quick Draw – This Week in Design appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2ftn4X5
envato.com coupon

Timelio’s Charlotte Petris on going all in and raising the next generation of entrepreneurs - envato.com coupon

When Charlotte Petris and her husband Andrew moved to Australia to start their own business, they didn’t come with a plan B.

It was a deliberate tactic to force themselves to do something they had both wanted to do for decades – to launch a startup disrupting the industry they had worked in for most of their lives.

The pair had both worked as chartered accounts in Singapore and most recently New Zealand before making the move to Australia, and after recently bringing their second young girl into the world, the time was right for them to make the jump into the land of startups.

“We moved a number of times, and with so much disruption in our lives we just went all in and disrupted everything,” Charlotte Petris says.

“We made the decision to not get jobs when we reached Australia, to not have a plan B. I wasn’t going to get a job so we had to make something else work.”

And they did. The wife and husband team launched Timelio, an online marketplace connecting businesses directly with a network of investors to enable access to fast and flexible growth capital, at the start of 2015.

The idea had been playing in the back of Petris’ mind for years as she worked in corporate finance, and the duo’s experience placed them well ahead of the pack.

“It’s a space that hasn’t been fully disrupted by technology, and it was a huge opportunity to do something innovative in the finance world,” she says. “I had a lot of experience and thought about how I could do it differently and challenge the norm.”

But entrepreneurship wasn’t a foreign concept for Petris – she had been immersed in its world for as long as she can remember, with her parents running their own tourism company in New Zealand.

From these very early days of childhood, the seed of entrepreneurship had already been sewn in Petris – it was a just a matter of waiting until the right time to let it bloom.

“Growing up with that makes the chaoticness of running a business a bit more normal, you just think that’s how it should be,” she says. “It prepares you for that sort of lifestyle.”

But Petris initially opted for the more traditional route, completing a university degree and then entering the world of corporate finance. But the idea of creating a startup from the ground up was always floating around in the back of her mind. This mindset inevitably led to her regularly challenging the status quo in the traditional corporate environment, something that often wasn’t received very well.

Eventually she came to the realisation that staying in this stable corporate job was actually more risky for her then making the leap she had dreamed about since being a young child.

“It wasn’t professionally satisfying for me,” Petris says. “I wanted to make a difference and I wanted to control my career. I felt like that in a big corporate environment you’re not in control of what you want to achieve.”

Timelio has enjoyed rapid growth this year, and recently secured a massive $5 million investment led by Thorney Investment Group, which will be used to primarily expand the startup’s team. Timelio has now facilitated the trading of over $40 million in invoices, and is steadily growing at 30% month-on-month.

The gamble has paid off for the founding duo so far. But this rapid growth comes with its own unique challenges, with Petris’ role as CEO now changing dramatically each month, and sometimes each week.

“You have to let go and adapt… you can’t foresee what’s going to happen and you don’t know whether it’s going to be successful. You don’t know how fast the business can grow or the market opportunity. Unexpected things come along the way.”

The fintech sector is even more male-dominated than the startup landscape in general, and Petris is one of the unfortunately few female founders paving the way forward. According to this year’s FinTech Australia Census, 87% of leaders in the local fintech sector are male, and the average age is 41.

Petris is a shining example for the next generation of entrepreneurs of any gender, and is making her voice heard, serving as vice president of the FinTech Australia organisation.

“I’ve always worked in a male-dominated space and that was part of the reason why I wanted to go out and challenge it,” she says. “But my experiences have been quite positive, people actually want to make an effort to really support women.”

Petris and her husband have two young girls, and just like her own parents provided the inspiration and motivation to embrace entrepreneurship, the pair are hoping that the exposure to startups and technology at such a young age inspires them to greatness of their own making.

“We need to get past thinking that they have to study law or medicine – we need to make it okay to start your own business,” Petris says.

The post Timelio’s Charlotte Petris on going all in and raising the next generation of entrepreneurs appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2f8QgEa
envato.com coupon

Click, Convert, Commit: Choosing Photos for Engaging and Optimized Content - envato.com coupon

Content marketing often focuses on written content as the central focus of a strategy to attract website or blog visitors and engage with them. However, choosing photos correctly to accompany the text can greatly enhance the success of a page to communicate its message clearly and effectively. In fact, images are necessary as statistics show that article with photos get 94% more total views and those with designated feature images are more likely to be shared on social media platforms. When selecting which photos to use with your post, there are several important items and objectives to consider. By taking the time to assess the following characteristics of your potential photos, you can ensure that your photos both align with and support your overall content marketing strategy.

Subject Matter

Any content developer knows that audience attention span is short and time is of the essence when it comes to capturing viewer interest and converting visitors into leads or customers. As a result, photos should be directly related to the subject of your page or post. Select photos that illustrate your text and thereby guide your reader’s visualization of the subject matter and their potential relationship with your brand. Make sure to include both the aspects of your product or service that you wish to highlight and thetype of audience you hope to attract. Most importantly, your photos should NOT distract the reader from the topic of your page or post. By choosing relevant photos that either exhibit your product or service or spark the reader’s interest, photos can be used to draw your audience in to finish reading and continue exploring your site.

Stock photography platforms are great resources to use when locating appropriate photos to complement your text. While the assets may appear endless, remember not to get lost in the wide variety of available photos. Instead, maintain the focus of your post or page by adhering to the subject matter test.

Visual Design

When selecting photos, it is also important to consider how the various elements and principles of visual design can also enhance your content marketing strategy. Whether using your own images or using stock photos, it’s necessary to consider the image orientation, contrast, focus, and use of space. Horizontal orientation is best used with photos used to break-up text, while vertical photos can be wrapped by the text and encourage the reader to continue moving through the text. Colorful pictures with high contrast and a strategic focus on the main subject can be highly effective at quickly impressing the importance and relevance of the photo on the viewer. Finally, pay attention to the use of space in the image to ensure that it is uncluttered and balanced for visual pleasure.

Beyond these components of photo design and composition, add variety to your content by incorporating different styles of graphic design. Choosing clear, stylized images will add spice to your content, while still maintaining focus on your message.

Envato’s GraphicRiver provides a wealth of assets to consider, from infographics to illustrations.

Captions

Content writing doesn’t quite stop when inserting images into your page or post. Instead, use captions as an integral part of your content strategy for cohesion. When selecting photos, brainstorm captions that can be used to advance your message and tie the subject of your image into the larger argument you are making or information you are communicating. If you make it a rule to select images with a caption in mind, you can ensure that your photos are consistently tying into your overall marketing and contributing to the style and voice of your writing.

Overall, captions should be short, sweet, and if appropriate, even can be comical. Most importantly, captions should be as creative as your topic and the images they are describing. In this way, your readers will happily move through the subject and caption of your text with motivation to continue reading and arrive with you to your final conclusion.

Keywords

Finally, every content marketer knows the importance of keywords forSEO and naturally, keywords also play an important role in how photos are used for content marketing. As you write your content, parse out which keywords you would like to highlight with your choice of photos. Then, from the start of your image search, use those keywords to find images in different databases. Again, the availability of stock photography can be overwhelming, but maintaining focus on your keywords will ensure alignment with your content strategy.

When reviewing your content before publication, revisit those keywords to successfully optimize your full page or post to the fullest extent. Achieve this by incorporating your keywords into your image name, caption, alt-text, and description. In your caption, remember to keep your use of keywords casual and conversational as content should never be dictated and overwhelmed by keywords to the point of turning off your readers and those search engine spiders. Although keywords play an important role in your image strategy, your primary focus will always remain on the quality and content of the image.

Analysis of a Feature Image

Crossing the Border for School, The Atlantic

Subject Matter: A mixture of men and women will allow readers of both sexes to relate to this image. The group also appears to be related in some way, perhaps a family. This grouping can also draw empathy from viewers.

Visual Design: The lack of contrast around the borders of the image conveys the sense of confusion and uncertainty felt by the subjects that are displayed in slightly more focus. Even their feet are blurred exhibiting their motion of across the border. The viewer is drawn into this journey by the placement of the subjects far away at the end of a visual tunnel. The lack of clarity and contrast in the image complement the article’s topic about the nation’s blurred borders and complex immigration policy that is on the verge of major change.

Caption: Because the context of the image is unclear, the caption clarifies what is happening and where the photo was captured. The caption humanizes the article and brings to the reader’s awareness the reality of daily living on two sides of the border.

Keywords: Border crossing

Conclusion

With consideration to these four aspects of your photos, subject matter, visual design, captions, and keywords, you can greatly maximize how images enhance your content for an effective marketing strategy. Photos are an important way to establish rapport with your reader, yet they should never distract or stray away from your overall topic. Use these tips and resources to develop your content marketing with visual assets that spotlight important conclusions of your content and inspire your viewers to click, convert, and commit!

 

_{Header image: bomberclaad}

The post Click, Convert, Commit: Choosing Photos for Engaging and Optimized Content appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2fqkj8P
envato.com coupon

Interview: Kayla Heffernan on UX, accessibility advocacy, & quantum physics - envato.com coupon

Last week, we interviewed UX designer Hollie Doar for our design/shine interview series, a new series that highlights the accomplishments and ideas of women in the design and tech industries. At the end of the interview, we asked Hollie to tell us about another woman in the design field that she admires, and she talked to us about Kayla Heffernan, a UX Designer at SEEK. In Hollie’s words, Kayla “is doing some really great stuff around accessibility advocacy. She’s also working on a PhD on insertable devices which is a whole other fascinating realm.”

Here’s our interview with Kayla: 

What do you do for work, and why do you do it?

Kayla: I’m a UX Designer at SEEK. I work in our discover stream which helps candidates search for and find opportunities to lead more fulfilling and productive working lives.

How did you end up working in the field of UX design?

K: I’ve always been interested in IT thanks to my older brother having a computer – we had one in the house before most people, back in the pre-Windows days! This meant they weren’t really easy to use, and the experience could be extremely frustrating. I chose to study an IT undergrad after receiving the highest grade in my VCE IT class. I didn’t really like coding, and the corporate side wasn’t my thing either. It was really a System Analysis & Design subject, and a 6-month placement at Unisys working on GUI’s, that opened my eyes to the importance of UX. I went on to do a HCI subject, and focused my masters on UX and e-health. I specifically got into UX to create the best possible experiences and help everyone access technologies.      

What are a few industry trends or technology innovations that you’re excited about?

K: The best interface is no interface. No one comes to your site just to use the site; they have a goal to complete. Your interface should not get in the way of what they are trying to achieve, it should be as invisible as possible. Following along this theme, my PhD work (which I am completing part time at The University of Melbourne while working at SEEK), looks at devices people are voluntarily putting inside their bodies. For example, individuals are putting subdermal NFC microchips into their hands, so they no longer have to carry keys or access passes. These insertables allow individuals to entirely eliminate a visible interface and in effect become the interface themselves, removing barriers to interactions.

What are your go-to tools for collaboration, working, and productivity?

K: I love Google Inbox – the ability to snooze emails really helps me manage my time and to do list. I also love Trello – I have lists for everything, even non-work related things like home improvements and our nightly to-do list around the house. Without Trello I wouldn’t be able to manage work, PhD, home and personal life.

My go to design tools are Sketch for iterating and Axure for demonstrating moving parts and testing. You also can’t go passed sketching on a whiteboard and talking through the problem. For sharing designs we use InVision, Principle, or problem-specific Slack channels sharing concepts early for feedback and collaboration. As our UXers are embedded in delivery streams, we also have weekly pin-up sessions with other designers to share and critique our work.

Some of your work focuses on accessibility advocacy – why do you think that’s important in the design industry?

K: Accessibility and diversity are my jam; it’s what I’m most passionate about. As designers our job is to be the voice of the user. This means all users. This includes the 1 in 6 Australians are affected by a disability, the 30,000 deaf-mute Auslan speakers, the 350,000 blind or low vision users,the  over 2 million people with dyslexia and 2.6 million Australians living with a physical disability.

“UX is like quantum physics: your design is both excellent and horrible, usable and unusable, at the same time.”

It is our job to point out unconsidered user needs and assumptions. We need to point out when something might come off as insulting, insensitive or hurtful; when something might not be useable for someone with ‘impairments’. We have to bring that users view to the design process to make things easier for them. We must the advocate for more empathetic and inclusive design, even if it doesn’t always make things organizationally easy for ourselves. When it comes down to it, it’s really the morally right thing to do (and you’ll grow your potential audience).   

What blogs/sites are your must-reads for creative inspiration?

K: I find it easier to visit one place, and for me that place is Twitter. I have a curated list of UXers and other IT professionals that inspire me, which I am constantly updating. Between this list, and our UX Slack channel at work, I find more valuable advice than I can keep up with.

When I’m blocked, I don’t go to blog/sites, I get offline. I go for a walk, I do the dishes, take some time out to talk to colleagues about something unrelated; inspiration always strikes when you least expect it.

If you had to give an aspiring designer one piece of advice, what would it be?

K: UX is like quantum physics: your design is both excellent and horrible, usable and unusable, at the same time. It is not known which until it has been tested with users and observed. Schrödinger’s interface. Only once you test with the real users of your website can you know whether or not your design is meeting their needs.

—

The name of this interview series, design/shine, is a nod to shine theory: the idea that women should focus on raising each other up and highlighting each other’s accomplishments (“I don’t shine if you don’t shine”). It’s a concept that’s been used across many industries and fields, and even recently by female staffers in the White House.

 

_{Credit for all photos: Kayla Heffernan. Header photo: kisika.} 

The post Interview: Kayla Heffernan on UX, accessibility advocacy, & quantum physics appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2gHZdoW
envato.com coupon

50 Best WordPress Plugins of 2016 – November Update - envato.com coupon

Finding the best WordPress theme is only half the battle. Making it look exactly how you wanted can take additional items, like menus, widgets and plugins, before you get your dream website. WordPress has solid customization options straight out of the box, but with limited knowledge of PHP or CSS, it can quickly become more work than you had originally planned.

Many theme developers look to one another to provide solutions to common problems, with WordPress licensing allowing cross-collaboration and access to its framework. But why spend the time writing your own plugins when there are so many tried-and-tested ones available online?

Here’s our list of the best selling WordPress plugins on CodeCanyon for last month (October 2016):

Top 1 – 10, October 2016:

1. Visual Composer: Page Builder for WordPress by WP Bakery in #1 again

Compatible with any theme, this page builder can instantly add a personal touch to a website. No coding experience is required as this turns the standard WordPress editor into a rich customization tool. There are unlimited design options, allowing even the standard theme to look like a high end website.

2. Slider Revolution Responsive WordPress Plugin by Theme Punch is again hard to beat, holding strong in position 2.

This mobile friendly, responsive slider is ideal for presenting your images and ideas on your website. This highly customizable slider has a rich editing interface and inbuilt optimization to ensure that loading speed is not sacrificed for this awesome plugin.

3. LayerSlider Responsive WordPress Slider Plugin by Kreatura sneaks up 1 spot taking position 3 from Ultimate Addons, who falls to position 4 in our October best sellers list

LayerSlider WP is a premium multi-purpose slider for creating image galleries, content sliders, and mind-blowing slideshows with must-see effects, even from your WordPress posts and pages. It supports both 2D and 3D in more than 200 available presets!

4. Ultimate Addons for Visual Composer by Brainstorm Force

Building on the already impressive Visual Composer plugin, this responsive additional provides unlimited possibilities and support you can rely on. Opening up the option of video backgrounds for you website as well as a whole host of other options, this turns an awesome plugin into a must have.

5. UberMenu – WordPress Mega Menu Plugin by Seven Spark also sneaks up 1 spot from position 6 in September

This is the ultimate mega menu for WordPress. With a fully responsive design and the option to add custom styling and HTML, no two menus need be the same. The easily useable interface means that no programming experience is required to achieve your desired results.

6. Essential Grid WordPress Plugin by Theme Punch is down 1 spot to 6 this month

Some of the most popular websites use a grid system. These layouts allow total control over how your posts or items are displayed and offer a responsive flow for the user. The customization options for this plugin by Theme Punch are endless and the integration with Visual Composer adds even more value to the number one plugin.

7. ConvertPlug Popup Plugin by Brainstorm Force is a new entrant to our top 10 best selling WordPress Plugins for October, up a whopping 10 places from position 17 in best sellers list in September

ConvertPlug gives you complete control over the behavior of the modules. With 100% customizable designs, you can decide the time when the users are most likely to act – it even comes endorsed by creator of best selling WordPress Theme, X Theme!

 8. Massive Addons for Visual Composer by MPC jumps into the top 10 best sellers in October from position 15 on the list in September

MPC set out to create the best visual composer addon with all the bells and whistles – check it out for yourself!

9. EventOn – WordPress Event Calendar Plugin by Ashanjay is our new best selling no. 9 – up 1 spot from September.

The number one calendar plugin for WordPress is EventOn, supporting multi-day events, a sleek grid layout, support for maps and custom meta fields, there is no reason to use the default WordPress calendar option.

10. Ninja Popups for WordPress by Arscode is down 3 spots from September to our no. 10 best selling plugin in October

This plugin improves conversions using a number of techniques; need to lock your content unless the user signs up? This plugin allows that. Hoping to retain the user when they go to leave the website? No problem. This powerful popup plugin even offers 8 completely free opt-in popups, so start improving your conversions now!

Read more: 50 Best WordPress Themes – November 2016 update

Top 11 – 50, October 2016

11. Master Slider the  WordPress Responsive Touch Slider is down 2 positions from 9 in September
12. WooCommerce Amazon Affiliates – WordPress Plugin by AA Team is up 2 spots this month
13. Bookly the Booking Plugin by Ladela is down 5 positions from 8 in our best sellers list last month
14. WooCommerce Extra Product Options by Theme Complete is up 1 position in October
15. Ultimate Membership Pro WordPress Plugin by Azzaroco is up 1 spot
16. Hide My WP – Amazing Security Plugin for WordPress! by WP Wave is down 5 positions month on month
17. Easy Social Share Buttons for WordPress by Appscreo has dropped 3 positions in our best sellers list from 14 in September
18. WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing & Discounts by Right Press is up 3
19. Flow-Flow — WordPress Social Stream Plugin by Looks Awesome jumps 6 positions from 25
20. WordPress Real Media Library – Media Categories / Folders by Matthias Web rises 2 spots
21. wpDataTables – Tables and Charts Manager for WordPress by TMS Plugins is down 3 spots this month
22. FormCraft – Premium WordPress Form Builder by nCraft rises 4 spots in our October best selling WP Plugins list (from 18 in September)
23. WooCommerce Advanced Bulk Edit by georgeiron jumps a massive 19 spots from last month!
24. Instagram Feed for WordPress – InstaShow by Elfsight is down 5 positions from September
25. Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce by bolderelements is up 8 spots
26. Yellow Pencil: Visual CSS Style Editor by Wasp Themes is down 7 spots from 19 in September
27. Layered Popups for WordPress by halfdata is up 3
28. WordPress Automatic Plugin by ValvePress has climbed an impressive 16 spots in October’s besting selling WordPress Plugins list. This plugin was ranked in position 44 in September.
29. WooCommerce Advanced Shipping by Sormano is up 4
30. Xmas Advent Calendar by rssyow is our first holiday season entrant to the monthly best selling list this year!
31. Visual Composer Extensions Addon by Tekanewa is up 8 spots from 39 in September
32. WP Cost Estimation & Payment Forms Builder by loopus is also up 8 spots
33. MyMail – Email Newsletter Plugin for WordPress by Revaxarts is down 9 positions from 24 this month
34. Woo Import Export by vjinfotech is the first brand new entrant to our top 50 best selling WordPress Plugins list for October
35. Social Locker for WordPress is down 9 positions from 26
36. Image Map Pro for WordPress – Interactive Image Map Builder by Nicky S took a steep dive in October, down 13 spots from September
37. Templatera – Template Manager for Visual Composer by wpbakery crept up one spot this month
38. WooCommerce Product Filter by dzeriho is down 11
39. UserPro – User Profiles with Social Login by DeluxeThemes is down 3 this month
40. The Grid – Responsive WordPress Grid Plugin by Theme-one is down 10 spots
41. The Interactive World Maps WP Plugin by cmoreira is our second new entrant for the October 2016 best selling WP Plugin list
42. Easy Tables, the table manager for Visual Composer is another new entrant to our monthly best selling WordPress Plugins list
43. Justified Image Grid – Premium WordPress Gallery is down 8 spots from 35 in September
44. Ajax Search Pro, the live search plugin is brand new to our list
45. Fancy Product Designer by radykal is down 13 from 32 last month
46. NEX-Forms, the WordPress form builder has risen 4 spots
47. WooCommerce Single Product Page Builder is brand new into our 50 best sellers list
48. As is Unite Gallery by Valiano
49. WordPress Viral Quiz – BuzzFeed Quiz Builder by StephanPtn (as used by this very Blog) is down 2 spots from September to October
50. Real3D FlipBook plugin by creativeinteractivemedia is another new entrant, just sneaking in to the October top 50

Which WordPress Plugins fell out of the top 50 best sellers from September to October 2016?

(21) WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing & Discounts by Right Press

(22) WordPress Real Media Library – Media Categories / Folders by Matthias Web

(28) FormCraft – Premium WordPress Form Builder

(31) WordPress Social Stream

(33) Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce

(37) ARMember – WordPress Membership Plugin

(40) WP Cost Estimation & Payment Forms Builder

(43) Quform – WordPress Form Builder

(45) TotalPoll Pro – Responsive WordPress Poll Plugin

(46) Mapplic – Custom Interactive Map WordPress Plugin

(48) Timetable Responsive Schedule For WordPress

(49) Booked Appointments – Appointment Booking for WordPress

 

The post 50 Best WordPress Plugins of 2016 – November Update appeared first on Envato.

envato.com coupon from Envato http://ift.tt/2dU5qM7
envato.com coupon