Nice design is usually the product of inspiration. After we see one thing that each seems and works fantastically it evokes us to wish to do the identical. Thoughts you, it’s not about merely copying another person’s arduous work. Reasonably, it’s a matter of what makes one thing work and including your individual artistic voice to it. Take a selected concept, after which make it your individual.
Should you look across the net for any size of time, you’ll undoubtedly discover inspiration. Immediately, for instance, we’ll check out 99u. Run by Adobe (and utilizing WordPress), it’s an online journal geared in the direction of artistic professionals.
We’ll dig in and uncover what makes 99u a improbable web site from a design and performance perspective (the 2 are sometimes intertwined). Then, we’ll take a look at some WordPress themes, plugins and design parts that you need to use to create your individual impressed masterpiece.
Why we find it irresistible
99u encompasses a grid structure that's each visually interesting and straightforward to observe. Whereas the look of articles on the house web page might be thought of eclectic, they do share constant headline fonts. Mixed, this design alternative permits us to extra simply pick particular person articles.
Talking of that eclectic look, some of the attention-grabbing points of this design is that every class of the location is represented in its personal particular method on the house web page. Some characteristic daring images or illustrations whereas others are merely textual content on a white or gentle grey background. This strategy helps to tell apart various kinds of content material.
And, as you scroll down the web page, you’ll discover blue navigation bar seems on the prime of the window. Simplifying navigation is all the time a welcome characteristic on a content-heavy web site. At this level, a search discipline can be added into the navigation.
One other good characteristic of the house web page is the inclusion of some calls-to-action amongst the usual content material. There are calls to subscribe to a publication and a quarterly journal.
Put up index pages all observe a extra simple grid structure. Every publish within the itemizing sports activities a featured picture together with a subject (class) hyperlink, article title, excerpt, social sharing and writer information in a grey background under.
Inside every article, once more there may be extra of a standardized look. A big featured picture introduces the content material with a single column of enormous, easy-to-read textual content under.
The general impression of the location is that, whereas not earth-shattering by way of innovation, 99u did a improbable job of creating a content-heavy web site really feel light-weight and open. Looking content material is easy and simple. It takes the sophisticated activity of laying out varied kinds of articles and provides all of it a really pure circulate. In all, the content material speaks for itself. That’s actually what any journal web site ought to try for.
Venture Property
Now, let’s take a look at some venture belongings that you need to use to carry an analogous type to your individual web site. Understand that these things received’t offer you a 100% match. However, every choice incorporates parts of what makes 99u such a well-crafted web site.
Themes
Prepare dinner Traveler
Whereas Cook Traveler doesn’t characteristic the identical precise form of grid structure we noticed above with 99u, it does mirror an analogous design philosophy. Utilizing the “Grid Boxed” structure choice, posts are very straightforward to browse on the house web page. Every publish within the checklist incorporates a featured picture, class title, publish date, social sharing and an excerpt. There's even a sticky navigation bar on the prime. Particular person publish pages are additionally related, as they make the most of a big featured picture and a single column of textual content.
Rinjani
Rinjani is a WordPress theme that, just like 99u, shows various kinds of posts in several methods. That is completed by benefiting from WordPress Post Formats. For instance, video, quote and picture publish codecs show in a way which most closely fits their particular type of content material. The benefit of that is that we will extra simply discern one sort of content material from one other. And, tweaking the theme’s types for these varied codecs might end in an much more eclectic combine.
Elliot
Elliot is a theme that makes use of one in all our favourite parts of 99u – the power for a selected publish to show throughout a number of columns of the grid. This permits for a publish to face out amongst the group and in addition break up the monotony of the structure. A sticky navigation bar can be included. There are additionally a number of house and publish layouts accessible, together with the “Grid” proven above.
Plugins
FlatFolio
Should you’re proud of the theme you may have however wish to incorporate a grid structure of weblog posts, FlatFolio will offer you many choices. The Mosaic grid, just like the one proven above, will provide you with that distinctive look whereas nonetheless becoming collectively seamlessly. You can too go for extra commonplace publish grids as nicely.
Lemon Grid
Should you’re utilizing Visual Composer and wish to create an analogous grid structure, then Lemon Grid is a superb alternative. It takes benefit of Visible Composer’s drag-and-drop interface to create a good looking publish grid.
UberMenu – Sticky Menu Extension
The Sticky Menu Extension for the wildly well-liked UberMenu plugin helps you create a shocking and helpful navigation bar. Mix these two plugins to create nearly any sort of navigation setup you'll be able to dream of.
Superior Header
You need to use Awesome Header to simply create a sticky navigation menu in your WordPress web site. Or, exchange your web site’s whole header when you like.
Design Components
One of many enjoyable parts of 99u is their use of vibrant and colourful animations. Under are just a few picks from Presswp Elements that can give your web site that additional aptitude. With a subscription to Presswp Components, you’ll get limitless downloads and entry to hundreds of sources for a single month-to-month payment.
Pop GUI
Electro Boho Seamless Vector Patterns
Set of Business Vector Illustrations
Make It Your Personal
Immediately, we examined a quite distinctive web site in 99u. By way of analysis, we discovered ways in which we will incorporate some equally impressed options into our personal tasks.
Inspiration can strike at any second. Typically, it’s only a matter of getting the correct sources in hand to take your concepts and make them right into a actuality.
