SF-Zone.net » Design

Industrial Background 1

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:21:15 +0000

I made a simple and fast background today. Hope you like it.

T-shirt Design 1: Music to my ears

admin — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:46:34 +0000

I made this design a while ago and people usually liked it. So I decided to offer users the option to have this on a tshirt.

Hope you like it

P.S. I made a shot from where you can buy more designs made by me. Just click on the “Shop” link from the top menu.

Gmail themes

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:57:52 +0000

Ever wanted to personalize your gmail account? It is true that you could always instal Better gMail if you wanted a more high-tech solution (and also a darker theme) but what if you wanted a more uniques feel to your gmail account? Well…now you can.
These days Google has just released the new “Themes” uptions for Gmail! It curently has a wide range of themes, from simple color one, to more complex one like Desk, where the background is like wood/desk and the email seem to be written on paper. Also , the left items (char, labels, etc.) are stikky notes. There are also themes that change over time…so it is possible to “rain” on your inbox.

For those geek/wiz-kid style fan, you can find an old style ascii theme called terminal (and that is exactly what it is). For those web 2.0 fans, there is a nice gloosy theme.

The exciting part is that there are some funny themes like Zoozimps or Bus Stop. For screenshots of all the themes currently available visit the gMail Blog.

Now, it is only a matter of time until Google will introduce the posibility to make your own themes. So very soon we will witnes themes made by other users as well.

If you don’t see the themes tab under settings, don’t worry. It will be there soon.

Duel Adventure – Flash game

admin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:32:38 +0000

I know it has been a long time since I posted something new. The reason: I was busy with makeing a flash game. This is my first serious project as a flash game developer. Hope you like it.

Quality stock images

admin — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:16:44 +0000

Today it is a lot easier to get quality stock photos that you can use on your website, in your design or in your print productions. Pictures start for as low as 1$/image and the quality is very good, most of then can even be used in hy-resolution print.

One such site is Dreamstime.com It offers quality hy-resolution images for a very low price. The images can used in print, design or anything you want.

Also, if you are a photographer and want to make some money you can register and submit your photos. When they are accepted the images are sold on the website and you earn money from every sell of your images. You also earn money for every referral of yours. You can send the money to your PayPal account or you can use it to buy images from the website.

Cairo – A Windows Shell Alternative

admin — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:00:54 +0000

Microsoft had spend many hours trying to build the best and most easy to use shell for Windows. When Windows Vista was released users could clearly see a difference between the previews shells of windows and the new shell. A shells isn’t just about the design, but it is also about the usability of it. Linux users love how there are many shells available for Linux. Here I must mention KDE (I like it the most) and Ubuntu shell. For windows on the other hand you are stuck with the default one. Well not any more!

A different shell for windows isn’t a new idea. There are commercial shells available since the launch of Windows XP. But these don’t really change that much in the system. They only change the menu by adding a few new things and you can ad some widgets on the desktop. The design can be changed really easy with the usage of themes, but that’s about all. So a shell that ads more useful controls, changes the usability of the shell dramatically but keeping it simple to use is really a hard task.

What would you say if I will tell you that this exists? And what if it was also free? Well it is true. It is called Cairo and it is the new shell that will be available for Windows. Cairo won’t just change the look of your OS, but it will also ad some really useful and good functions that will make your life a lot more easy. You will be able to acces programs with just a mouse click. I am not saying that the Windows start bar is bad or hard to use, but the Cairo bar will let you access your tools a lot more easy. This is very useful if you are a designer or a programmer and work with some tools daily.

At the Cairo website you can find some interesting screenshot and a few downloads with wallpapers. Cairo isn’t released yet and there isn’t a release date posted on the site. People on the forum said that Milestone 1 (the first alpha) is ready for distribution, but before they can release it they have to resolve some legal things first.

I can’t wait for the first release to be launched. The First alpha was delayed once, but let’s not taking it as a bad thing. Installing a new shell will replace some important aspects of your OS, and if the shell is not stable it can really mess your computer and you can lose important files. Even when the first tests will be released to the public I don’t encourage you to install it if you have important files on your hard drive. Install it on a new and fresh system that you will only use it for tests.

I will give you more info when the first public release will be launched. Until then check the Cairo website and read more new about it on my blog. Also come back again because the next post will be about some commercial (and available) shells for windows.

Online Operating System

admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:42:03 +0000

Ever wanted to access files, listen to music, write documents and many more things on any computer? There are times when you need to write something important when you are not at home, but also want to be able to use it when you get home. This is where an online OS comes in hand. You can access it from any browser and you don;t need to install any additional programs. All you need is a web browser and Flash Player.

Well, technically speaking it is not really and OS, but a really cool website that gives you and IDE that acts just like a real desktop. You have all the tools that you need: Word editor, Table (Excel) editor, Presentation (PopwerPoint) Editor, Instant messenger, Music player and many more tools. You also have a virtual hard drive where you can upload files and save files that you create using the online word or excel editor. You don’t need Office to create your documents.

If you have the free account you have 1GB space on your virtual hard drive, but you also have the possibility to pay for more space. registration is free and only takes a few minutes. The interface is simple. Anyone that is used to Windows or Mac won’t have any probles navigating in the OS.Thanks to the Flash Technology in witch it is build, it can run right from the website without needing to download or install anything. Also everything is done in real-time. And if you have any problem, there is a really organized forum where I am sure that you will find help. Also sharing files between other users using the OS is really simple and can be done in only a few clicks.

I am sure that you will find this website.OS really cool and useful.

Free Button Maker

admin — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:24:13 +0000

Do you want to have cool Web2.0 button on your website but don’t have the tool, time or knowledge to make them? Then I found the right tool for you. Mycoolbutton.com offers the best free button maker solution. And the best part is that you don’t even need to download any software on your hard drive.

The tool is easy to use and does not need any design skills at all. You just chose the desired dimension for your button, The colors, if you want and icon or not and the text. This way you will create cool buttons with only a few clicks. After that you just download the picture, upload it on your server and you are ready to use it. Below is just and example of a button made with this tool.

It looks cool, but is it enough for your site? If you have a simple website that doesn’t have a lot of traffic then this is the perfect solution for you, especially if you don’t know hot to make one yourself. But, if you have a famous website or if you want to make a famous website, than I don’t think this is good. Users demand unique designs when it comes to good websites, so a button made with a tool similar to this will only show the users that you areunable to make something original and unique.

If you want something that really stand out then hire a good web designer and he will make a cool and unique template for your website. This will prove that you have what it takes to own a good website and the users will come back to your website to see what else is new and unique.

Worst Logo?

admin — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:55:16 +0000

First of all sorry if this post is short, but my computer broke down and I writing this from school.

Two days ago while I participated on an interesting discussion on DigitalPoint Forum. An user wanted a list of bad (and I mean very bad logos). Of course anyone can make a logo to be bad, but he wanted logos from real companies. We each posted examples of bad logos, but none were as bad as the London 2012 Olympic Games.

I am serious. A logo that is so important and that will be seen by at least half of the people on Earth looks like a drawing of a 5 year old. I actually had read a comment somewhere: “My 5 year old daughter draw something similar today in kindergarten!”

The bad part is that it was made for a lot of money by a so called “professional designer”.