October 24, 2024

What are digital products? How to sell them in 2024

Are digital products more profitable? How does inventory work? Examples you can start selling fast! The best tools to sell digital products.

October 24, 2024

You can use text-wrap: balance; on icons

Terence Eden on using text-wrap: balance for more than headings:

But the name is, I think, slightly misleading. It doesn’t only work on text. It will work on any content. For example – I have a row of icons at the bottom of this page. If the viewport is too narrow, a single icon might drop to the next line. That can look a bit weird.

Heck yeah. I may have reached for some sort of auto-fitting grid approach, but hey, may as well go with a one-liner if you can! And while we’re on the topic, I just wanna mention that, yes, text-wrap: balance will work on any content. — just know that the spec is a little opinionated on this and make sure that the content is fewer than five lines.

There’s likely more nuance to come if the note for Issue 6 in the spec is any indication about possibly allowing for a line length minimum:

Suggestion for value space is match-indent | <length> | <percentage> (with Xch given as an example to make that use case clear). Alternately <integer> could actually count the characters.

You can use text-wrap: balance; on icons originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.

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October 24, 2024

20+ Halloween Pumpkin Carving Ideas for Graphic Designers

The spookiest day of the year is right around the corner. Take your Halloween pumpkin game up a notch by showing off your graphic design skills with a custom carving, and get inspired with these Halloween pumpkin ideas!

It’s not too late to find the perfect pumpkin at a local patch and spend some quality time (along or with your family) crafting a carving that no one else on your street will have. Not sure where to start? Here’s we’ve collected 20 creative Halloween pumpkin carving ideas, from simple scenes to iconic graphic design elements to a few customized spooks.

1. Show Off Your Skills

Design a carving that isn’t a traditional Jack-o-Lantern. You can carve almost any scene that strikes your fancy with the right tools.

2. Pantone Pumpkin

Show off a little design humor with a Pantone-inspired carving that shows your favorite orange hue.

3. Geek Out

Show your code humor with a clever line that only designers and developers will understand.

4. Group Gourds

Come up with a creative way to create multiple carvings that connect using several pumpkins together.

5. Carve a Logo

Show your love for Adobe or WordPress with a logo carving.

6. Dedicate to a Special Character

Everyone has a favorite letterform or type element — mine is the ampersand — carve it creatively or using your favorite font.

7. Try a Trendy Element

It seems like sugar skull images are everywhere this season. Go trendy and carve one of your own.

8. Craft a Fictional Character

From star of horror movies to video game heroes, use your pumpkin carving skills to create a replica of your favorite fictional character.

9. Try Something Unexpected

Most pumpkin carvings feature designs on a round, head-on canvas. Turn the pumpkin around and cut out parts of it to create new shapes for a different spin on the carving, such as the fish, above.

10. Be Silly

Try a silly pumpkin carving design instead of creepers. This more family- and kid-friendly option might just be a hit at your house.

11. Take Advantage of Mistakes

Admit it, there’s been a time or two when you dropped the pumpkin and smashed it a little or when the carving just went a bit awry. Make the most of it with a double-pumpkin design and turn that mishap into a happy accident.

12. Pumpkins Plus Other Elements

Take your carving to the next level with add-ons. Organic elements are a natural fit, such as the greenery above. But you can also add lights or other materials for a mixed-media Halloween decoration.

13. Tattoo-Style Carving

One of the more recent trends in pumpkin carving is to create a design with cuts all the way through the flesh of the pumpkin as well as carving partially through the outer shell. (This can allow varying amounts of light to shine through and accommodate more intricate patterns.)

14. Make It Scary

Get in the holiday spirit with an absolutely scary design, such as the homage to Comic Sans above.

15. Use a Creepy Character

Or you can highlight the scary season with a character that’s actually creepy, such as a ghoul, goblin or less-than-friendly face.

16. Carve a Cool Pattern

Rather than focusing on just one side of the pumpkin, develop a pattern or texture that can be incorporated all the way around. (It’s a great chance to use a trendy geometric shape.)

17. Think in Theory

Go beyond a simple carving with a pumpkin concept that uses a lot of imagination. Note how the example above mimics the golden ratio in the shape of a nautilus.

18. Highlight a Fav Font

Show off your design skills with a special message featuring your favorite font. Who said a carving has to be a picture? Words are OK, too.

19. Think About Lighting

If you plan to put a candle your pumpkin make sure the carving is designed to let that light shine through. Create a design that will look great in the dark, even if you can’t see the pumpkin itself.

20. Stick with a Classic

Just because you can go crazy with pumpkin carving doesn’t mean you have to. Sometimes the best idea is the most simple, classic one. Carve a classic Jack O Lantern with and put a candle inside to light the way for trick or treaters.

How Do You Carve a Custom Pumpkin Design?

Turn your design into a template for a custom Halloween pumpkin graphic design carving. Here’s how you do it:

Create the design in Photoshop or Illustrator. Make sure to use plenty of thick lines between cut areas or you might end up with a butchered pumpkin. The easiest designs include full cutouts. The most complicated entail carvings that require more detailed cuts on thin lines or elements.
Print the design at a size to match your pumpkin. An outline design is sufficient and easiest to work with.
Transfer the design to the pumpkin for carving by covering the back of the paper with graphic or charcoal, taping the paper to the pumpkin and then tracing the design. Other options include adding a sheet of tracing paper between the printed design and pumpkin before tracing or attaching the design to the pumpkin and then “tracing” the design to the orange orb by poking holes in the paper through to the pumpkin as a carving guide.
Remove the paper from the pumpkin and then carve it using the outline guide you’ve created. Just make sure to cut the top off and scoop all the seeds out first. It will make for much easier (and cleaner) carving.

Images from Google search. Design Shack did not actually carve these pumpkins (all our fingers are intact). Click the images for source links, information and more.

October 24, 2024

20+ Best Fonts Similar to Comic Sans

Love it or hate it, Comic Sans is one of the most iconic and recognizable fonts out there. Known for its casual, playful style, it’s often used in informal settings or for designs that need a touch of fun.

However, while its charm is undeniable, Comic Sans isn’t always the perfect fit for every project. If you’re looking for a similar font that captures the same lighthearted vibe but with a more refined touch, you’ve come to the right place.

In this post, we’ve rounded up the best fonts similar to Comic Sans to give you the same playful feel while adding a bit more style and versatility. These fonts maintain the friendly, approachable look of Comic Sans but offer variations that are better suited for professional designs, children’s projects, educational materials, and more.

Neue Comic

Neue Comic is a rounded typeface that reinterprets the whimsical charm of Comic Sans with a fresh, modern twist. Designed to optimize both fun and functionality, Neue Comic boasts seven weight options and corresponding obliques. This new font, with its rhythmic, legible design, strikes a harmonious balance between whimsical ’90s nostalgia and contemporary sophistication, challenging the notion that playfulness can’t be refined in typography.

Comic Roxan

Check out Comic Roxan, an engaging and versatile font similar to Comic Sans. This distinctive typeface is ideal for a myriad of designs including movie scenes, posters, album covers, logos, and more. With OTF, TTF, and WOFF formats included, Comic Roxan is a flexible tool, ready to add fresh creativity to your design palette.

Comic Story

Comic Story is a lively display typeface perfect for fun, light-hearted projects. Its cheerfulness adds a certain charm to logos, branding, greeting cards, posters, and other designs. The files include Comic Story.ttf and Comic Story.otf. This engaging typeface encourages you to put your heart into your work and enjoy the creative process.

Comic Animal

Comic Animal is a whimsical handwriting display font. Perfectly adaptable for any design project, this font exudes a charming simplicity and trends. Available in OTF, TTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 formats, it’s a versatile favorite that could quickly become your standard choice across various design occasions.

Hey Comic

Hey Comic is a bold, cheerful font perfect for creating a fun, engaging atmosphere in your projects. Ideal for logos, branding, greeting cards, or posters, this versatile font offers multilingual support. Both standard and extrude versions are included. Created with heart and passion by Khurasan, it adds a playful touch to any design.

Comic Mode

Comic Mode is a whimsical yet formal sans serif font that comes in nine weight variations. Perfect as a refined alternative to Comic Sans, its distinctive style is shaped by a blend of technical typography and relaxed handwriting. From thin and round to black and elliptical shapes, its diversity is extended with the addition of oblique styles, culminating in 18 different styles.

Coming Sans

Coming Sans is a cheerful, versatile font that evokes a playful comic book feel. Ideal for a range of uses such as children’s storybooks, comic-themed designs, and catchy headlines, this font inspires lighthearted creativity. It includes uppercase, lowercase, symbols, punctuation, numerals, ligature, alternate, and multilingual support, available in OTF, TTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 formats.

Comic Speeds

Comic Speeds is a playful, distinctive display font reminiscent of comic sans. What sets it apart are the alternate characters featuring ‘speed’ effects that make it perfect for cartoon-based creative endeavors. It’s recommended for logos, social media posts, product packaging, special events, and more.

Mindy

Meet Mindy, a comic display font with a rounded, bold style reminiscent of Comic Sans. This versatile font is ideal for everything from children’s book titles and comic books to posters, social media content, and branding for kids’ items. The zip file includes Mindy in OTF, TTF, WOFF and WOFF2 formats, perfect for all your creative needs.

Best Seller

Best Seller, a minimalist sans serif font, serves as a valuable creative asset. Reminiscent of Comic Sans in style, it can enhance everything from children’s books and flyers to book titles, advertisements, and so much more. The download includes useable formats such as OTF, TTF, WOFF, and WOFF2, making it a versatile choice for your design project needs.

Healing Sunday

Healing Sunday is a playful, textured font reminiscent of handwriting that adds authenticity to any creative project. Perfect for logos, invitations, advertisements, or packaging, this hand-drawn font brings a natural touch and detailed beauty to designs. It’s accessible in most design software, including Adobe Illustrator and Microsoft Word.

Lemondy

Experience the quirkiness of Lemondy, a playful font inspired by hand-drawn sketches. Excellent for headlines and titles, it adds a dash of fun to book covers, comic texts, packaging labels, merchandise, and children’s books. It features uppercase letters, numbers, punctuation and supports multiple languages.

Kidster

Kidster is a captivating comic display font that emulates a handmade look, similar to Comic Sans. This versatile font can be used on a variety of platforms from book titles and news headlines to posters, cards, banners and flyers. Appreciated for its scalability, Kidster comes in a convenient zip file with four formats: OTF, TTF, WOFF and WOFF2.

Comiquest

Comiquest is a delightfully versatile handwritten comic font. Perfectly blending casual charm with modern simplicity, this font gives your creative endeavors a unique, personal touch. It suits branding, logos, invitations, and posters impeccably and maintains a polished appearance. With its accessible and stylish feel, Comiquest is sure to enhance your design work.

Sans Block

Sans Block is a delightfully casual handwritten font! Use it to infuse a fun, laid-back vibe into anything – from comic books to advertisements, posters, book titles, school flyers and even social media content. The downloadable zip file comes packed with Sans Block OTF, TTF, and a webfont-TT. It’s your perfect partner to design something truly awesome!

Basmety

Meet Basmety, a cheerful comic display font that brings joy to every word. Ideal for a range of uses from comic books and classroom settings, to kids’ products and social media content, Basmety livens up any text with its playful style. The downloadable zip file comes with OTF, TTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 formats.

Ant Rich

Ant Rich is a whimsical comic font that’s perfect for lending an air of playful simplicity to your work. Ideal for projects ranging from flyers and book titles to social media content and logos, it’s easily incorporated into your design due to the included OTF, TTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 formats.

Free Fonts Like Comic Sans

Comic Story

This creative and playful font also features a letter design similar to Comic Sans. It is designed with fun and children’s designs in mind. You can use it to add beautiful titles to your packaging designs, posters, book covers, and much more.

Comic Cheese

Comic Cheese is another creative font similar to Comic Sans. This font also has a playful letter design inspired by comic books. The font is most suitable for designing titles and headings for all kinds of fun, entertaining, and playful design projects.