Mobile design and branding are two very important pieces of today's design culture. More than ever, people are jumping into the world of mobile and trying to tackle the needs of consumers.

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Here is a collection of iPhone apps that have a great design as well as top-notch branding from start to finish. Check out the various mobile trends that are taking over the mobile design world.

Source: Flowerly by Justalab

Source: OATbook by Rob Cleaton

Yardsale by Sarah Mick

Source: Dribbble, Dribbble

Source: Dribbble, Dribbble

Source: Dribbble, Dribbble

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Dribbble

Dribbble

 What mobile design elements are your favorite of the moment?

Be the next GelaSkins artist! Gelaskins works with some of the world's finest talent to bring stunning art to any device. You could be the next artist to be featured on GelaSkins and have your pattern available worldwide!

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GelaSkins is passionate about great design which is why you'll find some of world's most creative minds gracing their pages. A portion of each skin, case or print sold goes directly to the creator, helping to support and promote independent artists everywhere. Pretty neat, right?

The HardCase is the newest addition to the product family. It is a tough polycarbonate case made to protect iPhones and impact damage and everyday wear-and-tear. Simple to install and remove, the one-piece snap-on construction holds tight for maximum protection. The HardCase allows for easy access to buttons and is compatible with charging cables and screen protectors.

So let's get down to business! Here are the details to enter our contest and possibly win the fabulous prices below.

How to enter:

Submit one of your patterns here. Just select a pattern template that you designed and colored and apply it to the hardcase... Easy as that! Give it a try.

Prizes:

1st place prize: Winner will become the next GelaSkins artist, and will collect royalties on the sale of their design to our customers.

Runners Up: The 2nd-5th runners up will receive $100 gift card towards custom GelaSkins featuring your pattern.

The 1st place winner will be chosen by GelaSkins but the 2nd-5th place winners will be chosen via voting by your community. Once you create your submission, make sure to check out the other submissions and vote for your favorites.

Submissions will close June 4th and we will be announcing the winner on June 5! Good luck!

View all the entries here: Gelaskins Hardcase Entries.

Contest Rules:
All designs entered stay owned by the creators. The grand prize winner agrees to share their design rights with Geleskins, and participate as one of their designers. They will earn a part of all sales of their design.

We are very excited to review the brand new Smashing Magazine book, REDESIGN THE WEB.  I'll start by saying that I would not only recommend this book to every designer, but it is a must for any person who is in the position to make decisions about their website. Why do I think this? Understanding the how and why behind design allows you to learn the types of questions you should be asking about your website and will help the entire design process immensely.

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Let's start by taking a look at the table of contents:

Chapter 1, The Business Side of Redesign, was my favorite chapter in the book. Focusing on the business of design is by far the most important part. This concept can sometimes be overlooked when you get caught up in "making it pretty". "The most powerful defense against fashion is simple: we must ask why." Great tip to try next time your clients wants a "make my website look like that" design.

Another great point brought up in this chapter is the designer-client relationship. I agree that many of these relationships are broken. Without the client understanding the how and why behind your work they tend to focus on the looks, not the purpose. Here are some pointers to create a better relationship.

Chapter 2 dives into the technical needs of a company and offers some basic advice for clients when it comes to exercising their options and choosing the right platforms for their needs. This includes everything from choosing the right content management system to your commerce platform.

The following chapters cover the basics of HTML5, the great advantages of using CSS3, and some of the new features and benefits both of these languages have to offer. It also touches upon Javascript and some tricks to replace complex JQuery. If you are familiar with both HTML + CSS, you will understand the tips and pointers these chapters have to offer. Here is just an example of what you will find:

Source: Page 107

Chapter 7 goes over a variety of Photoshop tools at your disposal. Most of these techniques are pretty basic if you are a Photoshop know-it-all, however there might be a few that you didn't know about. If you are new to photoshop, this chapter is a perfect way to learn some new techniques. Here is an example of  from the book:

The chapter, Designing With Personality, was another stand out chapter of this book. Personality really is what sets brands apart. Below are some examples listed of the benefits of creating a personality.

The concept below is extremely valuable. Copywriting isn't always taken into account in design, but in terms of building a brand with personality, it is a very key element that must be given some thought.

A great example quoted from Chapter 10: "GE made its giant corporation feel more humanly by sharing the individual personality of its workforce. It showed us the passion and pride it has for its craft. and we felt it.

There is a landing page strategy that can absolutely benefit you, further than getting early access sign-ups, that is brought up in this book. This is known as the "hidden survey". You can gauge interest and demand of a product that hasn't even been built yet just by monitoring the number of early-access sign ups. Another great way is offering a short "Help Us Build Something You Want" survey asking them a few short questions geared toward getting valuable information that you can use. Getting to know the people that use your product is the best way to build a product.

If you are just starting in the field of design, this book is definitely for you. It will quickly get you up to speed and give you some great pointers that will most improve your current workflow.

If you are well into the field of design this book might not offer entirely new concepts. Still, there is always an opportunity to learn and overall, it is definitely worth reading to see what new ideas you can take away from it.

Get your copy of the new Smashing Magazine book, Redesign The Web.

There are thousands of different ways you can design a website, the options are rather endless in fact. Color palettes, placement, design and branding all come into effect in the same space, so it is important for there to be a cohesive theme throughout. Sometimes we can get stuck in how to design the perfect site for your purposes. So here are a few lesser seen ideas that are sure to inspire your next design.

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How cool is the design behind "loom". This design is very simple with a simple menu to the left and a majority of the page taken up by just one image. It is definitely a different approach from some sites that choose to fill up the homepage with different messages and directions for the viewer. Of course, it depends on the amount of content the site has to offer, but I love the simplicity of a design like this.

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Design Sponge continues to be one of the best resources out there for home decor. This is a perfect example of a site that has so many different directions that could take their readers to, depending on what the reader is looking for. This is a simplified way to show snippets of what the site can offer to readers depending on their needs.

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Here are a few interesting and different designs that you just don't see every day.

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This wedding website is fabulous from top to bottom. Everything from the color palette to the typography choices fit perfectly with the style and feel of the couple. Sometimes shapes and interesting typography can go a long way.

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This whole site from top to bottom is well thought out and well put together. Everything from the font choices to the branding are simple yet effective for this company. I happen to be an ever growing fan of darker more textured backgrounds with bold white font, and this is a great example of that look being done just right.

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There are so many great design trends right now, which look do you like best?

I'm sure everyone knows that having an impressive resume can sometimes be the deciding factor in whether or not you land a spot at your favorite company. With so many resumes hitting employers desks these days, the first step is to get your seen by the right people to give you that fighting chance.

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It goes without saying that some employers might not jump at the chance of having a resume sitting on their desk in the form of a milk carton, but the up side to such a resume is that you are sure to get noticed.

It doesn't take drastic actions such as that to impress your new potential employee, but creating a clean, well-designed, and easy-to-read resume might be all it takes to get them to notice you and consider you a candidate.

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With so many people on the hunt for a job these days, adding a bit of personality often times give your potential employers enough reality about who you are. And if they like what they see, you could jump ahead to round to.

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This is also a great time for you, especially as a designer, to show off some of your skills right then and there.

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Just like with business cards, your first impression has to be something worth looking at. I have always been a fan of the sewn business card, but this resume with a sewn detail on some awesome fabric is another cool way to stand out and show off your personality a little more.

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Do you have the whole package? Show it off with more than just a piece of paper.

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Of course, landing a job really comes down to the right fit for you and the company, and a resume isn't 100% going to be the deciding factor, but presenting a well-prepared and unique resume gives you the best fighting chance at getting your body of work seen by the people who could be your future employers. Giving them something something to talk about and something that they don't see dozens of times in a given day will at least come as a breathe of fresh air and something they will definitely remember.