Are you barreling down on your latest design without a clue on what to do? Are you looking to roll out 5 more blog post this week without any topics in mind? Are you generally struggling to come up with any ideas? Your first thought may be to force through the creative process and work it out for better or worse. You keep pushing until you hit a breakthrough. You think if you put enough time and effort into your work something is bound to turn up. Fact of the matter is, what turns up will not be worth all of the agony.

Stay Creative at Your Own Pace

Simply put, if you are not in the mood to do something do not force yourself to do it. For the time being work on something else, stay productive, and avoid getting burnt out on a piece of work that was going no where to begin with. Putting all of your time and effort in a failing attempt to produce something creative will only frustrate you further.

Allow Creativity to Come to You

Creativity comes naturally not forcefully. If your in the shower an idea strikes run with it. Finish up your shower, sit down at the computer, and start rolling out ideas. If your out on the town and creativity strikes again make a note and revisit it later. Creativity can hit at any moment. Learn how to make the most of these moments as well as how to stay productive when creativity is in a lull. If it means working at the wee hours of the night when creativity peaks so be it, just so long as you are making the most of your time and happy doing so.

Stop Bad Habits and Start Build Constructive Habits

Forcing yourself to be creative will only produce sub par results, of which could be completely avoided had you taken some time to unwind. So before you pour that next cup of coffee and get in over your head stop. Think to yourself, is forcing myself to be creative right this second really worth it?

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1. How To Stay Motivated
2. The Web Design Process
3. Working With A Bad Client

Where to Submit Your Web Design and Development News

One of the most popular lines from the 1989 film Field of Dreams is “If you build it, he will come.” A great quote from an excellent movie. Sadly, this quote does not hold true to that of web design. Building a website will not get you visitors and writing in a blog will not get you readers. You must advertise and promote your website accordingly. Today, with the help of social media, gaining publicity has become increasingly easier. There are however many outlets that are often quickly overlooked. One of these outlets being user submitted community news.

User submitted community news is one of the hidden gems within the web design and development community. Websites featuring community news allow users to submit their content and then have that content linked to if determined appropriate. In doing so, users are able to build links to their content and get it out in front of a larger audience that they would have not been able to reach otherwise. As a return, websites offering community news will continue to get traffic from users submitting their own content as well as from users looking for the latest and greatest articles.

Getting your content accepted on community news websites is neither easy nor guaranteed. Your content has to be original, of high quality, and beneficial to readers in order to be accepted. It is hard work and can take time before you see any results. When your content is accepted, however, the results can be significant. The exposure and boost in traffic will prove to be well worth the effort.

Non-Account Based

The following is a list of websites that offer web design and development user submitted community news without the need of an account. Simply enough, all you need to do to submit your content is complete a quick and easy contact form. The websites are listed in order of page rank (highest to lowest) as well as alphabetized.

Last updated April 14, 2010

Account Based

The following is a list of websites that require an account in order to submit your content. Many of these websites also cover a large variety of topics rather than strictly web design and development related news. While the range of topics may be larger than you would prefer the out reach and pay off can often be larger as well. As with the non-account based list, these websites are listed in order of page rank (highest to lowest) as well as alphabetized.

Last updated April 14, 2010

Download Bookmarks

Download all of the websites, both non-account and account based, listed above in one simple HTML bookmark file. The bookmarks may then be imported into your web browser of choice.

(Right/Control Click Save As)

Was Any Website Missed?

There are dozens upon dozens of websites featuring community news, did you notice any that were left out? Particularly, was any website specific to web design and development left out? Please leave your contributions in the comments below.

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3. Web Design 101 – The Basics

Guido Daniele is an extremely talented artist and his collection of "Handimals" is proof.

After attending art school he began working as a hyper-realistic illustrator in 1972 with many large promotional and advertising corporations throughout the world. After experimenting and trying a few different painting methods he found his stroke with body painting in 1990. What started as body painting for advertising pictures, commercial, fashion events, and other exhibitions has turned into more than Guido could have possible imagined.

The "Handimals" collection originally started when Daniele was hired by an advertising agency to do some body paintings of animals. Instantly he took passion in the idea. "I researched each animal in depth to see how I could transfer it to a hand, and then set about bringing it to life." The first "Handimal" was the cheetah, and to this day is still his favorite. "It turned out perfectly the first time and gave me the courage to complete the rest of the set."

Most commonly, Daniele uses his son (Michael James, 15) and daughter (Ginevra, 22) as his primary canvases. "If you're spending hours on end holding someone's hand, I'd rather it be the hand of someone I love. There's nothing worse than working with a nervous, unfamiliar model whose hands are shaking." On average the typical "Handimal" takes around three to four hours to paint in its entirety. However the first time Daniele painted the eagle with outstretched wings clocked in at ten hours upon completion.

Daniele admits that the hardest part is not the painting itself, but rather having to watch his paintings be washed down the drain and disappear on a daily basis. "I'm getting used to it. At least I get to start each day with a fresh canvas."

For more information on Guido Daniele please visit his website.

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2. The Quick Six with Chris Coyier
3. An Intro to HTML & CSS

Google does a lot of interesting things, of which one of the most popular being periodically changing their logo to reflect current events. In the past 10 years we have had the pleasure of seeing quite a few fascinating and delightful logo designs. Most often we see these imaginative logos around holidays, including Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and other popular holidays. We are often surprised to see new logos unexpectedly, most recently for the 40th anniversary of Comic-Con. Outlined here are over 300 of the most brilliantly designed Google logos.

2009

40th Anniversary of Comic-Con – July 23, 2009

Historically Long Solar Eclipse – July 22, 2009

Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Anniversary – July 20, 2009

Nikola Tesla's Birthday – July 10, 2009

Igor Stravinsky Birthday – June 17, 2009

Philippines Independence Day – June 12, 2009

Mary Cassatt's Birthday – May 22, 2009

Missing Link Fossil Discovery – May 20, 2009

Mother's Day – May 10, 2009

Samuel Morse's Birthday – April 27, 2009

Anzac Day In Australia and New Zealand – April 25, 2009

Girl's Day in Germany – April 23, 2009

Turkey National Sovereignty & Children's Day – April 23, 2009

St. George's Day & Shakespeare's Birthday – April 23, 2009

Earth Day – April 22, 2009

Kartini Day in Indonesia – April 21, 2009

Zu Chongzhi's Birthday – April 20, 2009

Christiaan Huygens' Birthday – April 16, 2009

Thailand New Year – April 13, 2009

1st Day Fall/Spring – March 20, 2009

St. Patrick's Day – March 17, 2009

Giovanni Schiaparelli's Birthday – March 14, 2009

Dr. Seuss' Birthday – March 2, 2009

Valentine's Day – February 14, 2009

Unix 1234567890 – February 13, 2009

Charles Darwin's Birthday – February 12, 2009

Jackson Pollock's Birthday – January 28, 2009

Martin Luther King Day – January 19, 2009

New Years – January 1, 2009

2008

Holiday Doodle – December, 2008

Thanksgiving – November 27, 2008

Rene Magritte's Birthday – November 21, 2008

Veteran's Day – November 11, 2008

U.S. Presidential Election – November 4, 2008

Halloween – October 31, 2008

Google's 10th Birthday – September 27, 2008

1st Day of Fall – September 22, 2008

Large Hadron Collider – September 10, 2008

Summer Olympic Games Doodle, Beijing – August, 2008

50th Anniversary of Nasa – July 29, 2008

Marc Chagall's Birthday – July 7, 2008

4th of July – July 4, 2008

1st Day of Summer – June 20, 2008

Father's Day – June 15, 2008

Diego Velazquez's Birthday – June 6, 2008

1st Hot Air Balloon Launch Anniversary – June 4, 2008

Anniversary of the 1st Ascent of Mount Everest – May 29, 2008

Up in the Clouds – May 22, 2008

Walter Gropius' Birthday – May 18, 2008

1st Demonstrated Laser Anniversary – May 16, 2008

Florence Nightingale's Birthday – May 12, 2008

Mother's Day – May 11, 2008

St. George's Day – April 23, 2008

Earth Day – April 22, 2008

Mother's Day in the Middle East – March 21, 2008

1st Day of Spring – March 20, 2008

Persian New Year – March 20, 2008

St. Patrick's Day – March 17, 2008

Alexander Graham Bell's Birthday – March 3, 2008

Leap Year – February 29, 2008

Valentine's Day – February 14, 2008

Chinese New Year – February 7, 2008

50th Anniversary of the LEGO – January 28, 2008

Martin Luther King Day – January 21, 2008

New Years – January 1, 2008

2007

Holiday Doodle – December, 2007

Thanksgiving – November 22, 2007

"My Future" UK – November 20, 2007

Veteran's Day – November 11, 2007

Halloween – October 31, 2007

Luciano Pavarotti's Birthday – October 12, 2007

International Sputnik Day – October 4, 2007

Google's 9th Birthday – September 28, 2007

Roald Dahl's Birthday – September 13, 2007

4th of July – July 4, 2007

Father's Day – June 17, 2007

Mother's Day – May 13, 2007

Earth Day – April 22, 2007

Yuri Gagarin – April 12, 2007

Persian New Year – March 21, 2007

St. Patrick's Day – March 17, 2007

Chinese New Year – February 18, 2007

Valentine's Day – February 14, 2007

Martin Luther King Day – January 15, 2007

New Years – January 1, 2007

2006

Holiday Doodle – December, 2006

Edvard Munch's Birthday – December 12, 2006

Thanksgiving – November 23, 2006

Remembrance Day – November 11, 2006

Halloween – October 31, 2006

Canadian Thanksgiving Day – October 9, 2006

Mid-Autumn Festival – October 6, 2006

Harvest Day – October 3, 2006

German Reunification Day – October 3, 2006

Google's 8th Birthday – September, 2006

Rosh Hashana – September 22, 2006

Chinese Teachers Day – September 10, 2006

Google U.S. Government Search – 2006

4th of July – July 4, 2006

Father's Day – June 18, 2006

Football World Cup – June 9, 2006

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Birthday – May 22, 2006

Mother's Day – May 14, 2006

Earth Day – April 22, 2006

Joan Miro's Birthday – April 20, 2006

Persian New Year – March 21, 2006

St. Patrick's Day – March 17, 2006

Percival Lowell's Day – March 13, 2006

Winter Olympic Games Doodle, Torino – February, 2006

Chinese New Year – January 29, 2006

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Birthday – January 27, 2006

Martin Luther King Day – January 16, 2006

Louis Braille's Birthday – January 4, 2006

New Years – January 1, 2006

2005

Holiday Doodle – December, 2005

Thanksgiving – November 24, 2005

Halloween – October 31, 2005

Google's 7th Birthday – September, 2005

Lunar Landing Anniversary – July 20, 2005

4th of July – July 4, 2005

Father's Day – June 19, 2005

Frank Lloyd Wright's Birthday – June 8, 2005

Mother's Day – May 8, 2005

National Teacher Day – May 3, 2005

Earth Day – April 22, 2005

Leonardo da Vinci's Birthday – April 15, 2005

National Library Week – April 10, 2005

Vincent van Gogh's Birthday – March 30, 2005

World Water Day – March 22, 2005

Persian New Year – March 20, 2005

St. Patrick's Day – March 17, 2005

International Women's Day – March 8, 2005

Valentine's Day – February 14, 2005

Chinese New Year – February 9, 2005

New Years – January 1, 2005

2004

Holiday Doodle – December, 2004

Thanksgiving – November 25, 2004

U.S. Presidential Election – November 2, 2004

Halloween – October 31, 2004

Space Ship One – October 4, 2004

Google's 6th Birthday – September, 2004

Ray Charles' Birthday – September 23, 2004

Summer Olympic Games Doodle, Athens – August, 2004

4th of July – July 4, 2004

Father's Day – June 20, 2004

James Joyce Bloomsday – June 16, 2004

Venus Transit – June 8, 2004

Mother's Day – May 9, 2004

Earth Day – April 22, 2004

Persian New Year – March 20, 2004

St. Patrick's Day – March 17, 2004

Leap Year – February 29, 2004

Valentine's Day – February 14, 2004

Gaston Julia's Birthday – February 3, 2004

Chinese New Year – January 22, 2004

Spirit on Mars – January 15, 2004

New Years – January 1, 2004

2003

Holiday Doodle – December, 2003

100th Anniversary of Flight – December 17, 2003

Thanksgiving – November 27, 2003

Halloween – October 31, 2003

Google's 5th Birthday – September, 2003

Alfred Hitchcock's Birthday – August 13, 2003

4th of July – July 4, 2003

MC Escher's Birthday – June 16, 2003

Father's Day – June 15, 2003

Mother's Day – May 11, 2003

50th Anniversary of Understanding DNA – April 25, 2003

Earth Day – April 22, 2003

Einstein's Birthday – March 14, 2003

Michelangelo's Birthday – March 6, 2003

Valentine's Day – February 14, 2003

Chinese New Year – February 1, 2003

Martin Luther King Day – January 20, 2003

New Years – January 1, 2003

2002

Holiday Doodle – December, 2002

Thanksgiving – November 28, 2002

Halloween – October 31, 2002

Pablo Picasso's Birthday – October 25, 2002

Google's 4th Birthday – September, 2002

Andy Warhol's Birthday – August 6, 2002

Bastille Day, France – July 14, 2002

4th of July – July 4, 2002

Canada Day – July 1, 2002

La FÃate de la Musique, France – June 21, 2002

Father's Day – June 16, 2002

Dragon Boat Festival, China – June 15, 2002

World Cup – May 31, 2002

Dilbert Google Doodle – May 20, 2002

Mother's Day – May 12, 2002

Children's Day, Japan – May 5, 2002

St. George's Day, UK – April 23, 2002

Earth Day – April 22, 2002

April Fool's Day – April 1, 2002

St. Patrick's Day – March 17, 2002

Piet Mondrian's Birthday – March 7, 2002

Winter Olympic Games Doodle, Salt Lake City – February, 2002

New Years – January 1, 2002

2001

Holiday Doodle – December, 2001

Nobel Prize Centennial Award Ceremony – December 10, 2001

Thanksgiving – November 22, 2001

Claude Monet's Birthday – November 14, 2001

Halloween – October 31, 2001

Korean Liberation Day – August 15, 2001

Swiss National Day – August 1, 2001

Bastille Day – July 14, 2001

4th of July – July 4, 2001

Canada Day – July 1, 2001

Father's Day – June 17, 2001

Mother's Day – May 13, 2001

Earth Day – April 22, 2001

St. Patrick's Day – March 17, 2001

Indian Color Festival – March 9, 2001

Valentine's Day – February 14, 2001

Lunar New Year – January 24, 2001

New Years – January 1, 2001

2000

Holiday – December, 2000

Thanksgiving – November 23, 2000

Japanese Children's Holiday – November 15, 2000

U.S. Presidential Election – November 7, 2000

Halloween – October 31, 2000

Summer Olympic Games Doodle, Sydney – September, 2000

Bastille Day – July 14, 2000

4th of July Doodle – July 4, 2000

Father's Day – June 18, 2000

Mother's Day – May 14, 2000

1st Google Doodle – May, 2000

Easter – April 23, 2000

St. Patrick's Day – March 17, 2000

Valentine's Day – February 14, 2000

Groundhog's Day – February 2, 2000

New Years – January 1, 2000

1999

Holiday – December, 1999

Thanksgiving – November 25, 1999

Halloween – October 31, 1999

1998

Thanksgiving – November 26, 1998

Burning Man Festival – 1998

Google U.S. Government Search – 1998

Google Beta – 1998

What Do You Think?

What do you think is the best Google logo? Did I leave out one of your favorite logos? Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Related posts:

1. Web Design Community News
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On a recent trip to Japan I had the opportunity to analyze Japanese web design and development first hand. I have compiled a gallery of some of the most popular websites in America and matched them up to their Japanese counterparts. Please enjoy!

Adobe

Amazon

AOL

Apple

Ask

AT&T

Blogger

CNN

Dell

Disney

DoubleClick

Expedia

Facebook

Google

Live

Microsoft

MSN

MySpace

NBA

Wikipedia

WordPress

Yahoo

YouTube

A few leading American sites not supported in Japanese:

• Ebay
• Craigslist
• Photobucket
• Flickr
• ESPN
• IMDB

Other Popular Japanese Websites

A few other popular websites in Japan include:

Ameba

BigLobe

Excite

Goo

Gyao

Hatena

Infoseek

Kakaku

LiveDoor

Nico Video

Nifty

Rakuten

Sakura

So-Net

TeaCup

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2. Are Meta Tags Important?
3. Home Page Design