This was originally posted 22/12/09. Below I’ve updated some of the content, and added a few more resources. If you know about one that has helped you, feel free to mention it in the comments (even if it doesn’t fall under one of the categories).

For those designers and artists out there who may not exactly be swimming in money, it seems like the only resource out there are the free ones. Mucking through those however, can make even the strongest will snap.

Invoicing

• WordPress 3 Invoice: Handy invoicing in WordPress plug-in form.
• Side Job Track:Web-based job tracking, invoicing, reporting and project management software.

Time and Record Keeping

• Open Office: Open source office suite, comparable to Microsoft Office. While it may have less features, it’s not by too much. It has the word processor (of course), spreadsheets, and a vast array of different plugins and more (not even counting the other great things that this has).
• Toggl: Available as web based or downloadable time keeping.

Free Commercial Use Images:

A good image can make a website that much better, while not everyone may have the ability to pay for them. Below, 100% free (commercial use) stock images. There are a few websites out there that claim to have ‘free images’ and they are either far from free, or there may be some questionable legality on them.

• Morgue File: Morgue File has a ton of images on it’s website. On their home page: “for your inspiration, reference and use in your creative work, be it commercial or not”.  The image library is vast, and you may be able to find some gems in there fairly easily.
• Open Clip Art Library: High quality (and open source) vectors, illustration, and other pieces all of it in the public domain.
• Stock.chng: More free stock photos.

Free Commercial Use Fonts:

• Larabie Fonts: Most of the fantastic fonts on this website have a free version.  They are all commercial-usable as well.  One feature that is seriously awesome?  The ability to change the display/ preview text to anything from ‘The Quick Brown Fox” to the latest headlines.

As a note, be careful when making your selection as not all the font options are free across the board.  If, upon check-out you see that there is a total aside from 0, scan the list.  While I would definitely insist one buys something from Larabie, to support the fantastic website.

• daFont: While you do need to make absolutely sure that the font you are getting is free for commercial use, the notification is right above the download link.  The website has a huge selection of all typefaces.

Information and Tutorials

There comes a time that anyone from beginner to masters of their trade may need some information.  The resources below are all personal favorites and have saved me some time and given their fair share of inspiration as well.

• Typedia:  If you happen to be a typography-o-phile** this website will ruin any chance you may have at free time for the foreseeable future.  It has a ton of information about typefaces, their use, their invention, and a ton of other information.
• PSDTuts:  This website has a brilliant set-up for their tutorials.  If you want to be able to download the sample files, you do have to join.  If, however you are looking for some new ideas or information- it’s free.  Even if you do pay, it’s only $9 a month.  So, just skip two lattes and you are set.

Copyright and Legal

If you are a freelancer, you need to protect yourself.  If you are normal, more than likely you aren’t fluent in legalese.  There are still some resources for when you can’t afford a translator (namely- a lawyer).  While these are far from being end alls, they will help protect you in the short run (at least until you can afford that lawyer).

• Creative Commons:For licensing and all that ‘fun’ thing.  It’s best to protect yourself early and avoiding any damages later.  For more information on Copyright, here’s the US government’s information page: Copyright Office.
• Contracts: About.com guide for designers.  This link has a bunch of resources for contract needs.

Miscellaneous

• Color & Code Cheat Sheets: In the interest of not repeating things, a handy list of cheat sheets (from this very website).
• Blender: Open source 3D software.

With the web constantly evolving, even those with a fantastic memory need to find ways to remember the information about the latest in best practices and usability. This is even more true for those with the memory on par with a goldfish (myself included).  There are a lot of cheat sheets online, and finding some good (and of course relevant) ones is no easy task.

Below, some incredibly useful cheat sheets for those who work with code, design, and other website related things.

• WordPress Template Tags Reference

This reference chart is fantastic, it’s incredibly easy to navigate (simply click the heading and you get the code and description).  This is the very thing that is the inspiration for the rest of this list.  WordPress is one of the most popular platforms on the web, and this can save you a lot of time and headaches.

• Web Safe Color Chart

Finding the right colors can be a huge undertaking, especially if you are trying to work only with the proper code and trying to find a browser safe list (with the code). This makes the task much easier.

• System & Web Safe Font Chart

Not all fonts are system wide. The people at MIT put together this safe font list of the fonts that are found on all systems, for those who don’t want to deal with extra code for web design, this is an incredible reference (with examples of each).

• Style and Color

For those who don’t want to experiment, and are looking for the perfect color combination for their project, Colour Lovers really can’t be beat.  You can search by theme, color, or many other variables. The color choices that you can find a phenomenal, and really when it comes to style- this is the perfect website.

Is there a cheat sheet out there that you couldn’t live without? Post up a link in the comments, and I’ll add it to the list.

When looking for inspiration or a full logo don’t discount stock websites.  There are many very talented designers who use them and you may be able to find a perfect logo for your business.  Below is a gallery of a very small sampling from the very talented individuals at Stock Logo. `

It is just a very small sampling, all using the simple theme ‘Green’ just to give you an idea of the many amazing logos that can be found there.

Do you have a favorite? Admittedly, I’m personally partial to the bike to the left.

Simply click an image to start the slideshow:

The sample above took about five minutes.  While it looks incredibly complicated, accomplishing this effect is really simple. This how-to will show you the easiest way (that I know of)  to create a stylized text look using Photoshop.

Again, while I am using Photoshop Elements, the method is the same in the full Photoshop program.  Just by some creative use of layers and the brush tools, you can create visually stunning text effects easily and quickly.   The only extras you may want are some brushes.  In the above I used the absolutely fabulous watercolor brushes from Bittbox and the equally wonderful Liquid Drop brushes from Ardcor over at QBrushes.

Creating Stylized Text In Photoshop:

Type out your text.

This effect works best with a thicker font, but play around with them until you have a look you like.  When it is all finished, if you don’t like the way a font looks it’s still editable and you can easily change it to something you like better.

Ignore the layer panel for now that comes next .

Stylize your text.

Using Element’s text menu, I’ve just added a simply outline to the text.  In the full Photoshop, you can do this by right clicking on the text layer. then go to blending options. then on the left side click stroke and alter (if I am wrong about that post up the right way in the comments, as it has been a while since I last used Photoshop.

Create your layers.

Create layers above each element. With the layer itself highlighted,  hit Control+G and using your brushes, design it until it looks how you want it.

Style Your Background

I used the same overall theme for the background that I did for the effect itself.

That’s it! Easy right?

I can’t be the only one who thinks of random music from the 80′s when looking at this (okay, I very well could be). Seeing as I adore the bold and block looks of some typography (when it’s not as bad as the one I did at least) I’ve been playing with some different text styles. There are some designers out there who can do some incredible things with text as the design’s primary focus. As my little thing over there proves, I could stand to learn a lot more.

Logos | Branding

I’m an Escher fan, so this was an easy one to include.  As an aside, how awesome are the impossible shapes?

Just awesome use of the characters.

(Source)

I can’t help but love the creative use of design and language in this logo.

(Source)

The letters in the ball just look so fabulous.  It’s so simple yet so stunning.

(Source)

The way the words make up the face, and the silliness just makes me grin.

Themes | Designers

Milo (3oneseven.com) One could very easily just dedicate their entire website to the designs over at 3oneseven.com. The designs are outstanding, and works of art in their own right. It was rather difficult trying to just pick only a couple designs to show here. The text in all of the themes works with the art to create some of the most amazing out there. Upstart Blogger One of my favorite type-oriented designers can be seen through UpstartBlogger.com. The designs are so fresh, and such a fabulous relief from a lot of the image heavy and ’ web 2.0 blue’ styles adorning many websites today.

The high contrast that is the norm for the themes created by this designer and really makes them stand out. A lot of the themes designed by him remind me of a artsy newspaper we have around my area.