A simple hand drawn HTML/CSS theme.

Everyone needs a base to start from. We are DesignBase. DesignBase is a database of highly curated free resources for all designers.

Water.css is a just-add-css collection of styles to make simple websites like this just a little bit nicer.

Good walkthrough of the essential sections of a web design contract.

Background images. Paper, stone, lines, patterns, pool table. Very nice. ‘Free textures for your next web project.’

‘There are some particular findings that are pivotal to issues such as readership and readability and comprehension, which is really what body copy is all about. If people won’t read it, or if they can’t read it or understand it, then what’s the point of having it?’

“Simple, lightweight WordPress themes for graphic designers, arists, architects, photographers, agencies, bloggers and other creative professionals.” Priced $30-$100.

"Create Your Own @font-face Kits."

Create color schemes by doing color math.

How to make an background image scale without using a ton of JavaScript.

This may be worth looking into. I waffle on whether this sort of thing is ultimately a good decision — you're relying on someone else's framework, it takes a while to learn and master, and once you decide to go with it you're essentially stuck with it. But isn't that the case with any pseudo-framework developed for a website design? I should test this on a little project.

As seen on Normative.com.

As seen on Normative.com.

How to set up Photoshop so this will never happen again.

The ultimate resource for designing to a grid.

Intelligently choosing the graceful degradation (size- and style-wise) of your web fonts.

With handy charts.

"I’d go so far as to say that the majority of the Web design field, by and large, is too easily motivated by technique, that the majority of us are thinking tactically far more often than we’re thinking strategically."

Andy Rutlege on the difference between creativity and self-expression, and the importance of a professional approach to creativity in design.

An interesting personal homepage.

Some rather obvious reflections, but valuable all the same -- the continued appearance of articles like this shows how important these lessons are. On the volatility of web apps, designers, the relationship thereof, and how important the user is.

An excellent resource for wireframing.

An excellent, diagram-guided overview of Fitt's Law, which declares that the closer and larger something is, the easier it is to access. The relationship is curved: small changes to small items can have a large impact.

"A tool for visual layout development of YAML based CSS layouts." YAML stands for Yet Another Multicolumn Layout.

"Striped background generator."

Notes on the growing importance of design in business. Good short reads.

A fine review of the trend in minimalism on the web and in technology in general since the late 90s.

On starting over. "It's better to have something we're both proud off than to try and salvage the work done so far. Sometimes you have to go all the way through the design process before you realize that you've built the wrong thing."