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35 Quality Business Card Design Templates for Free!

Guest Blogger — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:00:40 +0000

Though gadgets exist these days with features that aim to replace this basic promotional medium, old school printed business cards are still relevant, even important, for branding and advertising your identity. A well-designed and effective business card can be an excellent marketing tool for any business of any size.

Today we are showcasing 35 examples of quality business cards and also giving you some links from where you can download these beautiful business card templates for free. If you’re in need of a business card for yourself or your client, you may be able to find a cool template that will meet your needs or at least serve as a starting guide that you can edit.

Direct download: transparent business card

Direct download: wood industry business card

Direct download: QR Code Business Card

Direct download: blue business card template

Direct download: Bokeh 2 Business Card

Direct download: personal business card

Direct download: typography business card

Direct download: Creative Director Business Card

Direct download: Creative Business Card vol 3

Direct download: Stylish Business Card

Direct download: Dark Business Card Template

Direct download: Corporate Card vol 1

Direct download: Yellow/Black Business Card Template

Direct download: Retro Business Card

Direct download: Photoshop Business Card

Direct download: Business Card Template

Download page: Chillen Chillen Card

Direct download: Minimalistic Business Card

Direct download: PSD Business Card Mock Up Vol 1

Download: Creative Business Card vol 2

Download page: Business Card Templates

Direct download: Metal Black Business Cards

Direct download: Bokeh Business Card vol 3

Direct download: Teacher Business Card

Direct download: Sex Instructor Business Card

Direct download: GraphicFuel Business Card

Direct download: Business Card

Direct download: Standard Business Card

Direct download: Clean Business Card

Direct download: Simple Business Card

Direct download: Painter Business Card

Direct download: Minimal Business Card

Direct download: Bokeh Business Card

Direct download: Pink Business Card

Direct download: Google Business Card

About the Author

Bartek is a freelance writer, blogger and social media enthusiast. He offers tutorials and web components on his blog Web Design Elements and can be found hanging out on Twitter talking about web design, freelancing, productivity.

If you’ve got a design ready for printing, try the business cards card stock quality offered by UPrinting.com! We mention this because we heard they have a 20% discount on business card printing until January 31, 2012, and we thought that might help you save some.

Review: Radiant CMS — A Simple, User-Friendly CMS

Sufyan bin Uzayr — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:42:53 +0000

Radiant CMS is a simple Content Management System built using Ruby on Rails. It is licensed under the MIT Licence, which means it is freely redistributable and can be employed for both commercial and non-profit usage. Radiant CMS is ideal for small enterprises and teams.

INTRODUCTION

Radiant has a fairly simple and minimal admin interface that has barely four tabs – Content, Assets, Design and Settings. We shall take a closer look at the admin back-end later on.

Radiant is a simple CMS built in Ruby on Rails

In Radiant, you can create Pages using Markdown, Textile or plain HTML, among several others. Also, if you re-use certain parts of your content multiple times, you can save that as Snippets.

Pages can be given a hierarchy such that Child Pages come below Parent Pages.

Radiant also comes with a custom macro language called Radius (you may compare it to HTML).

The CMS has been localized well and there are native language packs for English, German, Russian, Italian, Dutch, French and Japanese.

And lastly, Radiant CMS comes with support for custom text filters as well as page caching.

THE ADMIN PANEL

As already stated, the admin interface has just four tabs:- Content, Assets, Layout and Settings. Let us now analyze each tab.

Content:

In Radiant, you build your website with Pages. Pages can have any hierarchy – you can have Company History under About, and Vector Drawings under Graphics, for instance. By default, Radiant comes with pre-defined templates for Home Page, Error 404, RSS Feed, Site map, etc.

Pages tab in Radiant CMS

Assets:

This tab is a fairly recent addition to Radiant CMS. It enlists external uploaded files such as audio, video, pictures, PDFs, documents, etc. You may compare it to the Media tab of WordPress.

Design:

The Design section has four parts: Layouts, Snippets, Stylesheets and Javascripts. Layout page lets you organize the look and feel of your entire website.

Layout tab in Radiant CMS

Snippets are handy pieces or chunks that can be added as and when needed. They are mostly used in regions such as sidebars and comment mechanisms. Radiant comes with predefined snippets for Articles, Comments, Footer, Header, Newsletter, RSS, Site Map, Navigation, etc.

Settings:

Settings Page has four sub-tabs – General, Personal, Users and Extensions. The first three tabs serve the same purpose as their WordPress counterparts.

Settings tab in Radiant CMS

Extensions, on the other hand, are the equivalent of WP plugins. They can enhance your website’s features. Radiant comes with several pre-installed extensions such as text filters for Mark Down, Textile and Smarty Pants as well as few language packs. Further extensions can be downloaded from the website of Radiant CMS.

Many extensions come bundled with Radiant CMS

IMPLEMENTING THE CMS

So far, we have taken a close look at Radiant CMS. We shall now try to analyze the functioning of the entire CMS. You can download the CMS from here. Once installed, it is time to explore the CMS!

The true worth of a CMS lies in its ease of use. Put simply, the easier it is for users to add content, the more popular the CMS will be! Radiant does not miss out on this front. As we shall now see, using the CMS is extremely simple.

Adding Content

In order to edit a page, simply click on the page’s name under the Content tab. On the Edit Page screen, you can specify the Title, slug, breadcrumb as well as the content of the page. You can also choose from pre-defined page types, such as archive or even error pages! Lastly, you can add sidebars and other content to your pages from the Edit Page screen itself.

Adding a Page in Radiant CMS

Adding Media/Assets

You can upload new media from the Assets tab. You need to specify the Title and Caption for the uploaded content. Radiant generates thumbnails on the fly for most file types, including pictures, videos, audio, PDFs and Office documents.

Adding external Assets in Radiant CMS

Tweaking the Design

You can specify the layout and snippets under the Design tab. Simply click on the name of the Layout file and off you go! In order to properly accomplish the editing, however, you will need to employ a certain amount of HTML, though. You can edit snippets such as header and/or footer along similar lines too.

If you are fluent in CSS or Javascript, you can add the same under Design–>Stylesheet and Design–>Javascript. All in all, tweaking the UI in Radiant is not as simple as uploading a theme in WP. In order to obtain the desired results, you’ll need to perform certain level of ‘designing’.

Further Customization

You can specify different website-wide settings under Settings–>General, such as website title, URL, time zone, default language, size of media attachments, etc.

General Settings in Radiant CMS

Similarly, you can add new users by navigating to Users under Settings and selecting ‘Add New User’ option. Recall the user roles in WordPress – Subscriber, Contributor, Editor, Administrator, etc. However, Radiant is not essentially a blogging CMS, so its user roles are rather minimally defined – Administrator and Designer. Also, one user can have both the roles as well.

Adding a new user in Radiant CMS

Coming to the last (and, arguably, the most important) component of a website – the extensions/plugins. Radiant comes with pre-installed extensions such as Page Archives, Module Exporter, Debugger Tool, etc. Apart from that, it also has native support for many filters such as Textile and SmartyPants. You can administer the extensions from Settings–>Extensions.

TO SUM IT UP…

As of now, Radiant CMS does not feature on the list of many automated script installers. Yet, it is one of the most popular CMSs built using Ruby on Rails. So, if RoR is your preference, Radiant is the way to go!

Pros:

A no-nonsense, minimal CMS,
Powered by Ruby on Rails,
No complex admin back ends of other CMSs,
Easy to get a small sized website up and ready,
Lets you tweak code to your heart’s content.

Cons:

Not many commercial themes/templates,
PHP-lovers: sorry, this one isn’t for you.
Definitely not powerful enough to build grand websites,
Requires some amount of coding (not as WYSIWYG as it appears to be),
Certain features, such as modifying the Permalink structure, need to be worked upon.

VERDICT

In today’s Content Management spectrum, not many CMSs have a specific target audience — WordPress is being used as a CMS and Drupal can power blogs. However, Radiant CMS strives to be different. It is nimble and easy to use and offers most of the commonly used features that one could ask for. Besides, it is one of the few CMSs that are powered by Ruby on Rails. There seems to be no reason why you shouldn’t at least give it a spin!

FURTHER LINKS

Radiant CMS: Website | Demo | Download | Documentation/Wiki | Blog

30 Sleek Fonts for Your Minimalist Designs

Isai Martinez — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:00:42 +0000

The minimalist style is rampant in the design industry. But just because it has become increasingly popular doesn’t mean that it’s that simple to practice. Anyone can try doing it, but not everyone can achieve it.

One of the most essential elements in a minimalist design is typography. Let’s face it, you can’t do justice to minimalism with pre-installed fonts like Arial, Century Gothic, Georgia, Verdana, Times New Roman, and etc. But frown no more! Here are 30 sleek fonts you can download for free that could fit perfectly on your minimalist designs.

Just remember that each of these fonts will blend differently with different elements. Try out several samples for your design and don’t be afraid to experiment with your font’s sizes, spacing, leading or kerning as well. Enjoy!

GeosansLight

Manfred Klein
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Museo

Jos Buivenga
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Satellite

Matt Yow
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Quicksand

Andrew Paglinawan
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New Cicle

La Tipomatika
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Anivers

Jus Buivenga
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Typo Slab Serif

Manfred Klein
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Whola

Unknown
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Dalle

Neal Fletcher
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Eurofurence Light

Tobias Benjamin Köhler
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Big Mouth

Timo Kuilder
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Existence Light

Yeah Noah
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Bergamo STD

Unknown
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Bino

Neal Fletcher
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Tall Films

GemFonts
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Champagne & Limousines

Lauren Thompson
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Kontrapunkt

Kontrapunkt
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Diavlo

Exljbris Font Foundry
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Titillium

Accademia di Belle Arti Urbino
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Engel Light

Gestalten Fonts
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Espacio

MuraKnockout Media & Design
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BP Replay

George Triantafyllakos
Download Source

Print Clearly

Blue Vinyl
Download Source

Edition

Unkown
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Pacotille

Luc Mahler
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Trees of Happiness

Weknow
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Walkway

GemFonts
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Flatform

Mat?j Sychra
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Steiner

Gabriele Magurno
Download Source

SF New Republic

ShyFonts
Download Source

35 Free Graffiti Fonts that are Hella Cool

Fernando Jose — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:00:49 +0000

In street art, graffiti is often used by artists as a form of self-expression. It makes common words and names that we wouldn’t usually care about stand out, and brings to life even the dullest corners of the street. Graffiti art definitely is the most forgivable form of vandalism, at least from an aesthetic standpoint.

With the help of professional designers, we can now apply graffiti fonts to our own designs to make our words stand out. Below is a collection of 34 free to download graffiti fonts that you can use for both personal and commercial projects.

Ruthless One

Måns Grebäck
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Graffogie

Ogeday Koc
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ReskaGraf

Olivier “Zitoune” D.
Download Source

Most Wasted

Magique Fonts
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Subway

Johan Waldenström
Download Source

Sadoc Wild

José Lobos
Download Source

QUB font

Adi Dizdarevic
Download Source

Servin’ For Salute

Måns Grebäck
Download Source

The Battle Continuez

Christopher Hansen
Download Source

JustFist

JustFist
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Bring Tha Noize

Pizzadude
Download Source

Writers

Johan Waldenström
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Aaaiight!

JW // Type
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Broken Records (Font)

Timo Kuilder
Download Source

FAVELA free font

Wete
Download Source

Antechamber (Free Typeface)

Alex Varanese
Download Source

Laks Oner

Laksone
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Free Fonts

Luis Fernando Carvente
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Brock Vandalo

Brock Marques
Download Source

Ruthless Two

Måns Grebäck
Download Source

blob – Free font by Superfried

superfried
Download Source

Progressive Fonts (free!)

Quix Maiquez
Download Source

Urban Jungle

KC Fonts
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El&Font Urban CalIigraphy

Jérôme Delage
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DJ GROSS

SDFonts
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Inner City

Mike Wolf
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Malice

Lukas Schiltknecht
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Sick Capital Vice

Dirt2.com – SickCapital
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a dripping marker font

wickhop
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Let Me Ride font

Måns Grebäck
Download Source

Whoa!

Johan Waldenström
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Searfont

bartolD & Sear
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Street Soul

Endie
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Souper 3

soup
Download Source

Scrawl 3rd

RaseOne Full Time Artists
Download Source

30 Free Vector Graphics for Your Daily Needs

Fernando Jose — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:00:29 +0000

Every so often, designers should make it a point to download fresh sets of vector graphics and other design resources. Whether you’re a print designer who designs posters, flyers and magazines, or a graphic designer collaborating with web designers and programmers, vector icons and illustrations will always come in handy.

There are a lot of websites that offer free vector graphics. But not all of them are really worth using, at least for commercial purposes. Once your work piles up and you’re a bit short in time, finding the perfect vector packs for your current project can be a bit of a chore. To help you out, we have collected 30 re sizable and ready to use vector graphics that might fit your designs perfectly. Feel free to download the ones you like by clicking on their corresponding source.

Tribal Tattoo Designs

stock-graphic-designs
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Abstract_beaujungka

beauload
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Alfred Doodle Set 27

AllonzoInc
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16 Antique Floristic Vector Patterns

creative_alys
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Poker Chip Vectors

acott
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Household items

chadtrutt
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Furry Creatures

yurike11
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vintage floral illustration

designious
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Free heraldry vector sets

oliver13
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free field flowers

phanie
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5 Floral Decorative Ornaments

Design-Maker
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Wolf Vector

purevil
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Weapons

chadtrutt
Download Source

Color Bomb

DennisBiscuits
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25 Abstract Butterflies Vectors

creative_alys
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Shamrocks and Queen Bee

chariss_valerie
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rpm vector collection

tektite
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Recycle Icon Vectors

vectorfresh
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Vintage Floral Free Sample

designious
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Feather Vectors

Artist
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Dragon Vectors!

crestfalleen
Download Source

Building Series

stock-graphic-designs
Download Source

Vector heraldic elements for logo design

creative_alys
Download Source

Free World Eagle Vector

raw_view_designs
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Ghetto Blaster

2202rikou
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Michael Jackson Vector Pack

krkdesigns
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mycanthus brush pack 1

r2010
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Mayan Vector Icon Pack

kampollo
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Mushroom Vector Pack

rstovall
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Helicopter Vector Pack

Thegoldenmane
Download Source

30 New Free Fonts For Designers

Prakash Ghodke — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:00:58 +0000

Typography plays a huge role in any design. While designers usually pick from a set of favorite fonts, it’s always good to be on the lookout for new ones that may be more appropriate to use for certain projects and could make your designs more trendy. To help you save your precious time, we have collected 30 fresh and ready to use fonts that can spice up your designs. Pick the fonts that appeal to you and download them for free by clicking on their corresponding download source.

If you have any free fonts you want to share, we’d love to see them, too. Just share the link by leaving a comment below!