Tyler G. Merkel Blog: 10 Resources Every Designer Should Stock Up On

Designers are forever on the lookout for great resources, and justifiably so as these make their work so much easier and better.

If you’re looking to build your resource box with power-packed tools that are actually of some use, here’s a list of 10 you can download and use regularly.

Great Resources for Designers

7 Good reasons to grab these free icons

On an average, every website has at least three icons on each page. And the number can easily go to 20 and up. Icons make up for an important part of every site, they could double up as the CTA button, an explanatory representation of bite-sized textual content, or simply to add mojo to your site, at all times you would have icons featuring on your page.

So, designers must stock up on as many and as varied sets of icons they can. One such assorted set is the one you get in this freebie, from spectacles to keys to books to bull’s eye, the icons are a mix and match of the ones that you’d find regular use for and ones that are extremely peculiar.

Get this set of icons as an instant download and use them for both personal and commercial usage.

Source: Dealfuel

10 Unique Material Design Patterns

A good way to inch up the aesthetics of your website without spending too much time or money is by adding material design patterns. Often, the background of websites are a dull solid color, and even though we completely agree with the fact that choosing certain design patterns could hinder the website experience, we also stand by the notion that choosing certain patterns can add to it.

The type of material design patterns you get in this freebie has been carefully sampled and tested to ensure that it goes well as a background. The tilled patterns can be used as it is or combined with other elements, you have the creative freedom to make them work as you like.

There are a total of 10 elements and are available in .PNG and .AI formats.

Source: Dealfuel

CSS3 Semi-Circular Menu

The banal horizontal and vertical menu options that you find on almost 99% of the websites are passé now, at least in terms of good designing. While the menu option is a complete must on any website, you also need to keep in mind that there are tons of websites fighting for your user’s attention, and sometime even a small nondescript inclusion like playing around with the menu option can help.

The circular menu option that you get in the freebie is perfect for a music-based website, but not limited to that. It can be used for social selling and even for main menu options (if you don’t have a lot of sections). With slight animation and an overlay to explain what each button is about, the circular menu would be a good addition to any website. And it is compatible with all major browsers like Opera, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.

Source: Dealfuel

App Menu Design

Do you wear multiple hats and design apps on the side too? This freebie would be godsend as it cuts down on work time by half and hasten up the process. While this doesn’t enhance your design as such but it automates the basic steps that you would otherwise have to create from scratch.

Get all your app menu items pre-designed. These include Settings, Add to Cart, Add to Contacts, Calendar, and more. The UI kit is specific for Android apps and can be downloaded in a few clicks.

Source: Dealfuel

CODIJY PRO - Amazingly Simple Photo Colorization App

Images are imperative for every website, and good color scheme is imperative for a good image. While you have the option of working on the color aspect of an image from scratch, do it manually, you’d end up wasting a lot of time. With this freebie, you can easily enhance the color scheme of an image in a few clicks.

In fact, not just enhance but you can create a colorized version of a black and white image too. Have time on hands and want to see what those eternal black and white images from the yesteryears look like? Just download the app – for both Mac and PC – and set it to motion. The stand-alone app requires little manual input and basically does most of the work for you.

Anyone who works with Photoshop or understands the importance of balance color scheme for images, should get this app.

Source: Photowhoa

Bernier - A Set of Vintage Typefaces

Anything vintage immediately grabs the eye and it has an old-school appealing charm to it, which is why vintage fashion keeps coming back. If you want your website too to have a touch of vintage, a typeface is a good place to start.

You don’t even need to go all out and use it as a font (with the help of the right editing app), including these for banners and headers work remarkably well too. For websites that have a high-end luxury theme, this typeface complements the theme particularly well. You also have the choice to choose from three styles – regular, shade, and distressed.

Available in two formats, .JPG and .TTF, you can get Bernier as an instant download.

Source: Dealfuel

10 Login Screen UI Designs for Android Lollipop

When you design an app, there are certain basic elements to take care of. And one such element is the login screen, the most-overlooked and ignored element to speak of. Designers don’t give this the consideration it deserves but a login screen is the point of contact between you and your users and paying attention to it and optimizing will only be helpful for the popularity and purpose of the app.

But fret not if you don’t have the time to work on this separately. This freebie of 10 login screen UIs will do the work for you just fine.

Choose from different options and pick the one that suits your app design and objective the best, the color combinations and design would give your app a facelift. The PSD structure is easily editable and requires basic Photoshop knowledge to get started with.

Source: Dealfuel

Responsive Mega Menu in CSS3 for Free

Mega Menus are kind of an important inclusion on websites now considering that a lot of e-commerce and websites displaying multiple options are springing up. A mega menu consolidates the sections in a collapsible format that makes displaying all major categories easier on the home page without portraying a disorganized front.

The freebie has multiple pre-defined color schemes so you can choose one that best matches with your website layout and colors. Factoring in extensive documentation, the mega menu is easy to customize and is compatible with all major browsers.

Source: Dealfuel

105 Editable Call To Action Buttons for FREE

The objective of your website is getting the CTA button clicked on, but must this really be a boring option? Just a sorry little thing begging for a click? Not anymore! Turn your CTA buttons into little reader-drawing heroes by choosing one from the list of this freebie. And with 105 completely editable options, you’d definitely be spoilt for choice.

The CTA buttons that are available in superior .PSD format are fully scalable and compatible with every website. The freebie would be a valuable addition to your resource box.

Source: Dealfuel

An Amazingly Stylish Free PSD template

Running short on time and budget? Use PSD templates, these are such a great way to bolster your work without compromising on quality.

The template you get in this freebie is specifically for a university or an online training website. Titled Education, the template is a one-page design, and has a slider with thumbnail and an accordion gallery, and much more.

The multiple commercial licenses make the template legally available for both commercial and personal usage.

Source: Dealfuel

Conclusion

Hopefully you will love some of these resources and will think them worth adding to your toolbox/library.

Please share your opinions with us, and if you use any of these, leave a link in the comments section below – we'd love to see what you do with them!