#mainly did this for text and font testing

[h2b1m]

rid of me - loosier

[gloomyshoujo]

So I heard about a site called bearblog.dev and decided to make an account. What's interesting about it, is that it's not connected to anything like most social media sites are. So really, the only way for people to find you is through word of mouth, or by paying (which tbh I prefer not being on a discover page tbh).

I liked their mission statement, about never wanting to sell, that it's run on donations and no ads, etc. But the biggest plus for me, was how you can customize things!

I haven't remotely worked on my own theme yet, but I poked around the code a bit, and it seems pretty straight forward; so I think I should be okay! Though, I can only play around the css, and not html without being a paid member.

Buuut I have experience though the sheer torture of having to customize everything through just css, so I think I'll manage.xD

I can't work on it rn, as I am finishing up on my Dreamwidth theme, as well as a drawing I need to get done soon.T.T But apparently, you can customize your dashboard!!! And, well, I couldn't resist.xD

This is, again, just the dashboard; so essentially, only I can see this lol. But I needed a break from my other 2 projects, and it seemed easy enough.xD

I definitely didn't go all out; as this is just my writing page. But I still wanted it to be calm yet exciting for me to work in! I chose colours similar to the Tumblr Classic (low contrast) theme, as I use that as my base on AO3 as well.xD (But I did shift the hue lol)

Initially, it was just gonna be solid plain colours but then...whoops! I had fun, and I did learn a few new things~

I had found a few codes a few months ago, and decided to play around with them, and made something new from them aha!

Which, if you would have asked me months ago, I would not have been able to figure out, but I managed to make something work.xD You can't see it here, but the headers have a subtle rainbow animation.:-P And when you hover over the boxes, they pop up, and have an animated rainbow shadow! Oh, and all links appear white, but when hovered, have animated rainbow on the text.:-) Yes, lots of rainbow!xD

Which like, technically these have been done in the past; but required Java Script back then. Now, they can be done through css only!:-D (Which was super helpful, since I can only play around with the css lol)

I could not install custom fonts, so went with a browser standard. I think for journal themes, it should work? But dashboard seems like a no go! (Idk tho, I'd have to test!)

Also, not very noticeable in the screenshot, but the body has a blur effect, so anything behind it will make it blur.:-)

And yes, couldn't resist adding Ranka.xD She makes me happy!

Also, yes, this is very busy for most. But I made it for me. The spacey background makes me feel calm and a bit nostalgic over some themes I had made in the past, or of other sites I enjoyed browsing. The rainbow is subtle, not too annoying; but still sparks something fun for me! The colours for the body do well for my eyes as I type/edit stuff, which is what I wanted. And having a character I love in the bg/cursor (which you can't see here either) is just a nice bonus aha~

There are still some very minor bugs I need to fix, but that will be for another time. I would like to make this code public eventually, but not sure how or where, or if anyone would actually want to use it.xD I'm thinking once I have an ACTUAL site one day, I'll post it there?

So uh yea, I'm working on a Dreamwidth, I have a Tumblr already; so why the fuck would I want another blogging platform?xD

A few reasons, which I feel like I've already kind of mentioned here lol. But another big reason, is I do enjoy having multiple spaces for different purposes if that makes sense? I like the idea of having Tumblr for whatever the fuck I do here.xD And Dreamwidth for more art and fandom related stuff (and maybe a few other stuff; but definitely long form posts; idk yet, I still haven't tested the waters. But think art/fandom blogging, mainly). And maybe a bearblog for more mmm...personal or intimate entries. Stuff I don't want too many eyes or engagement on.

Like, yea sure I could keep certain thoughts to myself. But I find myself always afraid of sharing thoughts, feelings, or ideas in my own spaces (I have soooo many drafts). Perhaps of fear of being "too much" or making someone mad; but I feel like I should learn to being okay being me, having opinions or thoughts on stuff, to be able to even change over time, and not worry about an algorithm showing it to the wrong person, ya feel?

And yea, I just want another site to test out coding/design without committing to having my own site again JUST YET lol. (I SWEAR I'll make one eventually...I'm just intimidated + unsure of which host to choose lol)

So yup! Uhhh idk when I'll be done all of this lol. I'll definitely finish my Dreamwidth first, which I will announce~! Once that's done, might work on my bearblog, and let you guys know of that.xD

[literallyjustscrollingthatisit]

The Process For "Proceed"

These are going to be pretty long posts but I thought I'd include a bit of commentary in between each. Starting with this one... Honestly, I was just testing out my iPad since this was the first time I'd ever attempted drawing digitally before. It was a really rough sketch with no true detail and just a little bit of color testing. (The quality on the images is pretty rough since for a while I would just take a picture of my screen rather than screenshot. I stop doing this eventually!)

Once I got my bearings and tested out my brushes (I use ProCreate by the way!), I started actually going in with more details, mainly Noelle's hair. I also tried to make her cloak more cloak-like? I think it worked anyway. I had a reference image for both Noelle and the Vessel as far as poses go because at the time, I had no experience and had taken zero actual drawing classes. (I'm in two right now!)

Now Noelle was really coming together! The base color was put in and the rest of her body (specifically ears and antlers) were added. I usually like to do base color for all the characters before ever touching shading. I'm not really sure why. But I did add a bit of shading on the back of Noelle's cloak here so I guess I just contradicted myself!

Unlike Noelle, I ended up drawing and placing the base color on the Vessel in the same day! (I forgot to mention it earlier but I mark my progress with how much I've done by the end of the day. And said progress is very inconsistent.) I remember getting stuck on the Vessel's hair for a while since there is no concrete hairstyle for them as it's the player's decision based on the options you are given. I ended up picking a really basic design as a placeholder and then never changed it... (Whoops...)

Remember when I said my progress was inconsistent? Take this one for example. Leaping from the last progress update where I completed the Vessel all in one go, here I simply added Noelle's face. Though I will admit, it took a while to nail down her expression, specifically her mouth. I remember playing around with an open or closed mouth design before landing on this one since I thought it made her look anxious and scared. At the time, I didn't know how to properly make mouths so that's why it's not matching the perspective...

Aaaaaand here's the final product! The final day primary consisted of me figuring out the blending tool in order to shade Noelle's skin and hair. I finally switched the background to the final color and added the text box with the Soul. I couldn't figure out where to find Deltarune fonts or how to import it into ProCreate so you got stuck with my attempt at decent handwriting instead! At this time, I didn't sign my art so there's no signature on this piece. Later I signed with my name and then I recently switched to my logo!

Well, this is the format I'll be using for the process posts. It's very long form so feel free to just look at the images and completely ignore the walls of text. I've never done anything like this before so explaining my work is pretty hard... Hopefully I'll get better with that too!

Next time, we'll be following the process for "Heart Behind The Strings" which is yet another long one. (Longer than this one!)

[copperbadge]

Heyo random art college student here with a little bit of feedback on the cover design for the omnibus. First, love that star design. Second, I had a bit of difficulty with the dark text blending into the background. Third (and this is a small nitpicky thing) everything on the cover is aligned on the center (save for the background squares/the star). In graphic design the center alignment is very static and tends to get glanced over by the eye. If you are open to a suggestion. I would have a color filled circle with a slightly smaller version of the star in the upper right edge of the circle and a smaller star than that on the lower left edge of the circle. (This would add a bit of dynamics into the cover and be more attention grabbing if seen from a bookshelf. Plus it would tie into the romance aspects with two stars). That's my two cents feel free to take it or leave it at your will

Hey Anon! (I did see your other ask about missing the word "proof", so no worries!)

One of the reasons I'm ordering a copy that looks so much Like That is that I'm trying to see if in the print version the dark text actually is difficult to read -- sometimes with the printing quality of the covers at Lulu, white text on dark background actually looks much worse. So it's really just a bunch of color tests at this point. The single star on the cover is mainly because there's only one star on the flag, and the cover is meant to be inspired by that, but I'm still working on how that'll work. The front-cover center alignment is mainly because they've been very simple up to now; on the one hand I do want the cover to be visually appealing/arresting, but also most people buying it are already familiar with my work, it's not like this is actually going on bookshelves :D

But I will bear in mind trying some off-center stuff! I think the asymmetrical star coloration might help with that, if I keep it. Still not sold on the font, either; it looks a little comic sans-y. It's mostly an injoke with myself, because that font is called "Sam Hand" -- it's literally made from a sample of my handwriting, which I thought would be a nice touch for an omnibus.

In any case, the book should be arriving today or tomorrow; I'll have to share a photo of the madness when it does :)

[dulceackles]

How much salt can ants handle / Victoria De angelis

Requested: no 

summary: as the night sets y/n finds herself suffering with anxiety. However, she gets a call from victoria who takes her on an adventure beautiful enough to ease her racing mind and a broken heart.

Pairing: Victoria De Angelis x reader (she/her, third person)

word count: 1.7k

content and warnings: angst, tw anxiety

In a dim light the room looked heavy. Like the walls might stumble and the sealing might fall. In a dim light of her bedroom, y/n felt her mind touch the rye needle. The art of taking things easy was something y/n had never learned. In her mind, she didn’t know where the world ended or who loved her. A lot of the time what she knew was only the crooked feeling of her own skin tightening around her like a rigid corset or her breathing getting stuck in her throat. And so t was that night too. 

She couldn’t tell what were the big things so she made the big out of them all. And the future full of big things made itself terrifying to a small human. Y/n got up from her bed. She had been trying to sleep thoughts away but what didn’t come as a surprise, head full of disasters was hard to sleep with. The cold floor felt piercing underneath her bare feet. Slowly she walked to the old sofa sitting in the back of  her living room. 

Sometimes she made a list in her head of all the bad things that could happen. And after that, if she was ever ready, she made a list of all the bad ways she could react to the bad things happening. A lot of the time it felt like the birds didn’t arrive at the glow of spring or like the sky never cleared. She knew most of her fears were irrational, stupid as someone would say. Still, everything stopped them from going away. She wished that maybe when she was older it’d get easier but more than that she feared they never would. 

Corset, that was her skin was. Then what sounded like a firework in the silence, her phone rang. She looked at her phone screen with her tired eyes. It was Victoria. A million bad things could have happened for her to call y/n at night, atleast that’s what y/n thought but as she answered the phone, she heard Victoria’s warming voice. 

"Hi," her voice was energetic like it wasn't midnight at all. "I hope I didn't wake you up."

Victoria knew y/n ralely slept at those hours. Many times they had been texting at two o'clock in night, wishing time would stop and night would last little longer. And y/n loved that about her, that like the sky was for mountains she was always there for her. Over the last year that she had known her she had grown feelings towards her she was too afraid to admit outload.

"Oh no, i was awake." Y/n muttered to the phone her voice still slightly shaking and she wished Victoria wouldn't notice. She wasn't feeling great but Victoria defendly had snapped her out of her own stormy mind.

"I can't sleep, I think I took a little too long nap at 5 pm but I also heard there's a blood moon tonight," Victoria explained herself from the other side of the line. "So wanna come to watch it with me? To the swing?"

The swing was the place Victoria had showed y/n the first time they ever met. They'd been drunk at friends' party and the story had taken elsewhere and so the two girls had found each other on this forgotten field with only the threes and one old swing.

"a blood moon?" Y/n asked.

"Yeah. Thought i'd be pretty cool." Y/n could only imagine the expression Victoria had on her face. Sometimes she got really excited over spontanious things and y/n never wanted to be the one to ruin it.

"Sure let's go." Y/n said to the phone. She was pretty happy about getting outside the dark apartment she had been rotting in for the past few days and feeling all the emotions she didn't want to feel.

"Good cus im already at your door." Victoria laughed.

“What?” Y/n trots to the window on her left and as she looks down to the apartment front, she indeed sees the light-haired girl with a big smile on her face under the street lights.

Y/n chuckles a little bit, "alright, I'll come down in a sec."

There was only one store in the whole tinpot sleeping town that was open during the night and even though it meant a little longer walk, the girls were certain the moon could not be watched without a family-sized pack of chips.

The greenish-yellow drugstore light flickered over them as they searched the stacks from those one specific brand of cheap flavored chips they had grown found over mainly because it was what they always bought when they were together and it was night. It had become this unwritten rule that where there was night, food, Victoria and y/n, the food was these chips.

“I swear to God if they don't have them.” Victoria already blustered until both of their eyes snatched into the orange pack with pretentious font over it.

"There!" Both of them yelped at the same time causing the tired-looking cashier to glared at them like he was about to kick them out simply because the girls were too awake for him to have them in his store at that time of the night but then again, he hated drunk party people more than he hated night owls.

Victoria and y/n grabbed the chip back and ran to the cash register like there was only one second left. And how could have they known but as the chip back flowted on the black assembly line, y/n felt as if maybe there was.

" thank you!" Victoria thanked the cashier as she grabbed y/n's hand and began to hasten out of the store.

Victoria's shoft hand felt electric on y/n skin. Sometimes it almost slipped from her mouth that she wished Victoria's hand would never leave hers or more so that no stranger's hand would ever find Victoria's. But of course over anything she wished as an endlessly burning sun that one day Victoria would hold someone's hand that maybe was stranger to her but a lover to Victoria. Sometimes she wish it could have been her but something behind her eat whispered to her that prehaps she was the worst thing Victoria had ever gotten attached to and that's why it never slipped from her month.

The moon indeed was red that night. Hanging in the sky it shimmered the earth with its red cast. The dirt underneath their toes rustled as they finally reached the swing.

"Take a swing, I'll see how many chips you can catch." Victoria said as she opened the chip back and prepared herself to aim at y/n's month.

Y/n giggled. She maybe had played the game last time in elementary school but she also remembered being good at it.

Y/n pushes herself into the swing and launched herself forward, trying to get into the best speed possible.

The rough old rope felt foul against y/n palms as she holds onto the swing and Victoria tried to throw chips at her but quite frankly, in the dark y/n couldn't tell at all where the chips were flying at.

"This was harder than I remembered." Y/n laught as victoria waved her hands.

"Did you catch any?" Victoria giggled. They both knew this was dumb but it was the best part of it.

"No I mean one hit my face and that was the closest one" y/n stopped the swing from swinging.

"Damn. Well, the ants gonna have a diner party tonight then." Victoria walked closer to y/n and sat on her lap to the swing. A lot of the times they just came to the swing to sit and talk and because there was only one swing, they quite often also tested the ability and streight of the old ropes holding the swing on the tree.

"Not sure how much salt the ants can handle tho." Y/n said as she wrapped her arms around Victoria.

"Me either, maybe not at all." Victoria said as she watched the moon over them. "It is red indeed." Victoria signed.

"Yeah, it is." Y/n could smell the sweet smell of her soft hair. She wanted to lean her head against her neck but resisted because what she thought was prevailed to exposing the truth that she thought she was hiding.

"You know what else was red? Your eyes when you came down the stairs." Victoria got up and turned to face her. "So what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Vic." Y/n let her cold hands fall to her lap.

"I also know when you lie." Victoria crossed her arms, eyeing y/n who still sat on the squeaky swing.

Y/n just stared right back of her. She didn't really know what to say or how to express what was wrong. In a way, she hoped she'd understand or that she'd know how she felt when everything felt big and the sky was falling. But she also feared she was a blue burden and so she didn't know what to say.

Victoria signed. It spiked y/n's heart because she didn't want to make her frustrated or angry with her, she just didn't know what to say and she didn't feel brave enough either.

But what came to y/n as an suprise, Victoria leaned little bit forward and pressed her warm lips againgst her fraught onces. Victoria's lips felt soft against hers and her tongue slowly traced her lips. It was tender sweet and y/n heart race and blush rose as she tasted Victoria. Y/n lifted her hands to gently pull her closer and Victoria slightly smiled into the kiss of how into it y/n was getting.

Soon Victoria pulled away, leaving y/n swollen lips. She looked up to her and Victoria gently run her thumb over y/n's lips before sitting back into her lap and wrapping y/n's arms back around her.

"When you feel like talking just tell me." She said as she watched the moon that was just as red as was her heart. "I truly believe you'd feel better if you sometimes talked to someone."

Y/n nobbed, and then she wrapped her arms tighter around her snuggled her head into her neck.

[fatummortem]

#fatummortem, written by Glow/Day, trans he/him 30+ GMT -5, this is an Independent Semi-Selective Multimuse Roleplay from the DC, Marvel & Final Fantasy Universes. I am Multifandom, Multiship & OC/Double/Crossover Friendly

 Guidelines || Muse List  || Request/Testing Muses || Thread Tracker 

                                       Sideblog || HIatus Updates

                                              Semi-Hiatus

Condensed Rules & Canon Standings

Disclaimer: I am not connected with DC, Marvel or Final Fantasy, movie/video game creators, nor am I connected to my face claims in any way. Limited icons for Work in Progress muses. All icons are created & edited by myself, other than a few I have of comic Daken, credit is within my guidelines. This is for mobile users mainly for their ease, but if you read this, feel free to skip a lot of my guidelines unless the need arises.

    I match my partner for formatting, well mostly. A lot of my long-time partner’s have issues with small font. So my OOC posts will not be made small. I do prefer small text, so if that’s what you use, go for it! I don’t have to use icons.

    Please, do not feel that you have to match my length. When I have feels or I’m strongly inspired, my replies can get very long. If your reply gives me something to work with, I will be happy. If you love length, go to town! I love it, I can keep things short depending on my partner or interaction. Not always as mentioned above.

     I created a thread tracker to keep track of my threads, mainly for the fact tumblr doesn’t tell me all the time. Not all of my threads have been added yet, but I will likely add it if I feel it will be continued. Feel free to nudge me if you want something added. It will definitely be on there if it’s plotted or I send DMs with questions. If you want to drop a thread, okay, I can remove it & we can just go with the flow or talk about another thread. I understand losing inspiration. I am always up to see if we can plot a way to make it interesting or continue the interaction going. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine too. 🖤

     DMs can be a bit tricky. I can get shy or anxious & become really quiet. Tumblr doesn’t let me know I got one. I will become quiet because you did & we’re just started talking, I’m patient about things. I forget things with my disability. It’s not because I don’t want to do what we were focused on, just gimme a nudge or if we were plotting I can wait up to a few weeks before throwing things at you if this happens unless your rules state otherwise or I see you're overwhelmed on the dash, then I yolo on. 

     I understand slowness, for whatever reason you have, I will not message you for replies, I will randomly chat or plot. If I send memes, I get inspiration too. If we talked about something or were in the mist of plotting, I just got the random bit of inspiration or impulse to send it. I am random as hell some days. It will never be because you’re slow. I see it as sending love. Mainly because I love random things that will make me sit & think about it & I’m learning what you like as a partner. I normally chill depending on the vibe.

I’m a trans man. No transphobia or any LGBT+ phobias pls. I like safe spaces.

    Exclusives aren’t something I do. I do mains, though I do them a bit differently than most, but I do not do exclusives.

    I may become quiet every Saturday during the school year, as it is the day I spend with my kiddo if they’re up for it. Teenagers have those ‘ew no parents’ moods, lol.

      Normal Roleplay etiquette/politeness is expected. Be respectful, have fun, no godmoding, no force ships, no random bouts of raging at me about my blog. No OOC Racism, homophobia… So on, so forth.

      I have detailed notes on my muses which is at the bottom of my Guidelines, Most of my muses are AU. Rose is from New Earth of DC Comics & left the Titans. Daken is from Marvel comics’ 616, is redeeming & his comic canon ends at All New Wolverines. Cloud, is mainly inspired by Remake, Kingdom Hearts & Advent Children. TJ hops reality. Any further information you can snag from my directory section. Working on getting my Work in Progress muses info finished, but temporary info is there. Well it’s a wiki.

      I will ask permission for Daken’s pheromone control & TJ’s possession powers before using them on your muse. As they’re powers they’ve grown up with using they will think about using these powers often in threads. If it comes up I normally leave it up to my partner’s comfort if said powers will work. Even without being able to control someone’s pheromones, Daken is an Empath. It is linked to his pheromone control powers, shapeshifters may be a bit hard to read, but he reads other’s pheromones. Not the emotions people let slip, he sees even the lies people tell to themselves. If that makes you uncomfortable, set limits. Though I can jump randomly in DMs if I’m unsure of your muses emotions.

    My Info page’s bio is mainly used for a personal framework, all other sections on that page are altered to an extent on my personal views of my muses, though most of Cloud’s page so far is a lot of notes as I’m jumping into a new Fandom. I never require someone to know all about my muse or how I write them, it’s what threads are for. c: I can at times ask questions to respect your muses canon.

    My Work in Progress muses are upon request, unless I’ve written with you awhile then I may throw them atcha if the mood strikes. Just send me a Meme, an Ask or a DM & let me know which one you want. It can be random or plotted. Though if I’m still building the muse it may take me a bit to respond with said muse.

    Though I can fall easily into ships with long-time partners, I ship with chemistry. I’m open to plotting exes if the idea is thrown my way, but I’m mainly interested in Ships with story. I will be picky about smut. No smut will be written when any of my muses are below the age of 18, mainly for the fact I can at times jump in a timeline. Nor do I smut with individuals that do not have ages on their blog / will not write with minors. Please do not try to force a ship or smut. I do not write incest. I have Dysphoria so I will not be writing smut with female sexes.

     I can get awkward with canon ships & avoid them. Or avoid loved ships, even crack ships. If you want an Interaction, wherever the wind takes it, just nudge me or bring an interaction up with a meme, starter call, etc. Otherwise I will avoid it, at least until we’ve written a bit. If you’re wondering why I’m throwing muses at you that don’t fit into the fandom, that’s why.

    My muses switch fandoms by request all the time, sometimes I have an idea of an interaction when I follow but sometimes it’s ‘their muse looks amazing’ & will have no idea which muse to throw at who.

    OCs are welcome! Along with any verses someone may have ideas for. Even full fledged crossovers. I only ask OCs with family ties to nudge me before interaction so we can plot things out. 

    I’m slow to make verses, mainly because I haven’t used them a lot on this blog. Cloud will have verses for his different canon & timelines, but I normally wait to create a verse for something until I have a thread for said verse. The more threads I have for the verse the more information I’ll write on it. If I followed your blog, there’s a high chance I’m thinking of a way to wiggle my muse into your fandom. I will be honest, I’m a sucker for growth, regression that leads to growth & variations thereof, so it’ll probably involve keeping my muses trauma alive about the muse. TJ’s the muse with the least amount of trauma though she has her own hardships. 

    Even when I create a verse, I will probably adapt it for interaction. As I enjoy staying true to the original concept of their powers as well as personality & some of things Daken can do can feel a bit OP if not discussed first. Well, it does to me sometimes anyway. If you wanna use a verse I have, feel free to. I’ll jump on it.

    Doubles are equally welcome! You are darling! Your views, even if they don’t align with mine, are valid for you. You are beautiful! If you have anxiety about doubles & block helps you, I will not hold it against you. 🖤

    I love plotting! Though great things come from randomness, I will probably focus on something relating to a plot more. If you have a plot idea or just wanna throw your ideas for bonds or an idea, whatever the case may be, you are always welcome to do so. Feel free to say no to any ideas I may have, I love finding a common ground of ideas & I love coming up with ideas of how my muse works in whatever verse. I will adapt to my partner's comfort.

    Memes & Randomized asks are welcome, if you want to, I’ll love it. I may be slow depending on inspiration but I will love it. You can send them at any time. Whether it’s IC/OOC or I posted a meme months ago.

    I repost my asks as if they’re another thread, mainly for the ease of reblog or so dumblr doesn’t eat it when hungry.

    Anything that isn’t a thread, meme or plot for my muses, you have free rain to reblog or like whatever. To me it means you like what I post. Go to town. 

     I am the type of person that reads your headcanons & hearts it, unless you're a non-mutual &/or a double. Doubles I avoid as I build my muse, even if I follow you while I’m doing it, afterwards it’s just showing I like your different take or agree. I like learning little tidbits people put together to breathe life into their muses. I hold back at times for new mutuals, but I do it to people I write with.

    I have a word disability involving written & verbal words, pls see Guidelines for further details if you’re interested. Just know it can & will impact my grammar & can impact my communications. I’m sorry. If I’m confusing with how I word things, feel free to message me for clarification if need/want is inspired, politely if you please. I won’t mind.

    On my bad word days, I normally just stick to smaller threads or partners I know who will message me if there’s a communication issue. Nothing to do about you, it’s just a habit of mine. If this angers you, pls see outlet suggestions below.

    Verbal abuse of any kind towards myself as an individual will not be tolerated. I will also avoid abusive individuals (OOCly). Please see outlet suggestions below.

    I do not join in on Call Out Culture, or Control Culture as I call it. Please, do not tell me whom to write with, who I can follow, or what views I should have as an individual. Don’t send hate. I will show you the same respect. If something triggers you, let me know & I’ll tag it for your dashboard safety. If you can’t follow any of these please see outlet suggestions below.

    If my interpretations of any of my muses or myself as a mun, fills you with an unimaginable rage, might I suggest the loveliness of the unfollow button or the splendid drop down option of block? It could be satisfying. A warm soothing drink mayhaps?

Triggers: All triggers will be tagged with ‘tw ____’ or  ‘cw ____’ , if I miss something that is bad for you, please lemme know & I’ll edit it when I’m able.

   Pls be aware that darker themes may be found here. I will tag it with cw darker themes if I can’t think of what to specifically tag.

    I have PTSD from abuse, though I am easily able to communicate if I need a break from darker threads. If we have a darker theme thread/plot & you wanna check randomly, feel free. You don’t have to really, I am very good at saying something politely if bothered as I said. A trigger of mine is Rape, please tag images of it, or detailed things about it. I also will not be RPing any form of it. Relationship roleplay would have to be heavily discussed so it’s consensual. I can’t stand human Zombies. They freak me out, they also creep me the fuck out. Please just tag images, mainly gifs, of human zombies with something like #zombie or something. So I can avoid it. Thank you!

          Thank you for reading this, you’re wonderful & awesome!  🖤

[spockandawe]

I'm also thinking of binding an English copy of TGCF (I also supported the author via more official channels!) and I was wondering - how did you get the pages to print in a bindable order? There's just so many of them lol

There are a LOT, haha. So I started from the translator’s file, which I already had it in Calibre, which is the free software I use to manage ebook files between my computer, phone, and kindle (the built-in interfaces are just... frustrating). Calibre also has the ability to wrangle ebook metadata and do file conversions, for like if you have a mobi and need an epub, things like that, so I strongly recommend it in general. It also has a file conversion function, and just to see if it would work, I turned the whole file into a .docx.

Microsoft word has its problems, but it’s the word processing software I’m most familiar with, and has been the software I use for basically all of my printing. There are both more fancy and more free versions of the software (I know LibreOffice has the ability to handle most microsoft office file formats), but word was one of the first investments I made when I decided I wanted to really dig into this hobby.

And the conversion did work! The images and tables of contents got a bit wonky, which I expected, and I ultimately cut those out of the document. Tbh, my book interiors are less pretty than the translators’ file, because I wasn’t sure this project would work and wanted to spare my poor printer in case things didn’t pan out. I left things with mainly just the book text and chapter headings. I added a text-only title page and pseudo-copyright page later with credits and metadata, but that’s all I added to the proceedings.

Then, I’m used to the word formatting game for books at this point, so I first applied a body text style to the whole document (iirc, I used georgia font at about nine point, with some first line indent and some spacing between paragraphs). And I went into page layout and selected booklet mode, with 24 page signatures. After that, I went and split the file into six parts and added page breaks for chapters and applied a different style to the chapter headings, little formatting things like that. 

Now, once you have a file in booklet mode, word will display the pages in straightforward order on the screen, but it will take care of printing order for you, based on your selected signature size. It’s a GODSEND. I don’t usually print directly from word, I print to pdf, then use acrobat reader to make sure my pages look like they’re going to come out in the correct order (and make sure it’s set to print in landscape mode, flipped on the short edge), and print from there. It’s easier to run test prints from adobe reader, or to reprint short sections if something goes a little wonky.

Now, I’m not sure if LibreOffice has that booklet mode functionality built in, but it seems likely that they do. And either way, if you have a linear document you can go into adobe reader and select a booklet mode in there as well. NOW. From that point, it’s a bit harder. They don’t let you choose a signature size. So if you wanted 20-page signatures, you would need to print ‘booklet mode, pages 1-20′ then ‘booklet mode, pages 21-40′, etc. I’ve done that, it’s tedious but not terrible, but it’s easier if you have word processing software that uses a booklet mode in the first place. Now, if you’re trying to go straight from the translators’ pdf to printing, your pages won’t be in the BEST aspect ratio for half-letter printing, and I have no idea how font size and pictures will play out. It’s theoretically possible, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you have another option. 

I’m not a pro at the typesetting aspects of bookmaking and don’t typically get too fancy (especially for a project like this, where I wasn’t even sure I was going to do it until l accidentally half the novel), but that’s how I tackled the project! I don’t want to like... support microsoft office, but it’s not a bad tool for this kind of work, especially for a project the size of this one. And it’s a tool that’s well-known enough that there are other resources out there with more detailed information on how to use it well. So my teal deer is calibre > word > adobe reader > print. I hope that helps a little!

[owenmercers]

i absolutely loved your types of love jatp post and was wondering if you could recommend a tutorial on how to learn typography like yours - it’s to die for!!

firstly, thank you very much! <3 secondly, i didn’t really go after a tutorial for that one, i mainly just played around with the settings until i found something i liked the look of but i am going to try to explain how i did. i’m horrible at explaining but imma try.

i’ll put it under the cut because i have a feeling it’s going to get long.

STEP ONE: made a normal text layer and picked a font, color and size that i thought fit. i knew i wanted the color of the text to be dynamic and follow the movements of the gif at it moved so i changed the blending option to one i think worked the best for this, in this case color dodge, but this will differ depending on the colors in the gif you’re making, play with it. ended up looking like this:

(this specific font is called “love” and you can download it here if you like it.)

STEP TWO: i did think that the colors was a little harsh and bright and didn’t match the soft feel i wanted the gifset to have so i added a layer style in from of a gradient overlay using the settings you can see above. it makes the text look like this:

STEP THREE: i thought that it looked so stiff like it was so i decided to make the text into a warped text, the way you do that is to click this button right next to your text setting at the top:

while in the warp text i just chose what i think looked the best and ended up going with the option called fish and lowered the bend from 50% to 20%:

(PRO TIP: if you’re using warp text and the working in the frame animation timeline make sure you’re on the first frame and then mark all frames and then duplicate the the text layer and delete the original text layer. this is because warp text only applies to one fram but by duplicating it it applies to all frames so that you don’t have to go in and do it for every individual fram because no one has time for that)

that makes it look like this:

STEP FOUR: i knew i wanted the shadow effect and that i did by duplicating the already existing text layer and changed the blending option to screen to create a softer effect:

i then added an additional layer style, this time i added a stroke to the text with these settings:

and it made it look like this:

then in order to create the shadow effect i simply moved the text layer a couple of pixels (five to the left and five up to be specific) resulting in:

(OPTIONAL STEP:  i thought it missed some sheen to it so i actually went back to the first text layer (that’s now the background text layer) and just duplicated it again and played around with the blending style again and ended up choosing lighter color. this is totally not necessary but i liked the way it looked so. now the whole thing looks like this, not the biggest difference, it basically just made the o lighter):

STEP FIVE: the “romantic love”, i started with making an additional text layer and once again picked a font, color and size that i thought fit. i ended up going with baskerville, 10pt in a light pink color that i grabbed from the color of the door. i also changed the distance of the letters from 0 to 500. 

i thought it was a little boring so i played around with the blending style and liked how it looked in linear dodge (add) and it made it all look like this:

STEP SIX: i wanted the text to follow the dip in the eros and went into warp text again to create the swoop necessary. ended up using the style flag and added a little to the bend (from 50% to 60%):

once that was done the text was a little too high above the text so i just moved it down into position and it resulted in it looking like this:

STEP SEVEN: for the quote i ended up just making a new text layer once again and picked a font, color and size that i thought fit, although since i wanted it to match the “romantic love” i didn’t changed the already saved settings. then in order to match it even more i also changed the blending style to linear dodge (add), just like the “romantic love.”

STEP EIGHT: i could have just left it like this to be honest but i wanted to add the dynamic that the other text layers had so i once again went into, you guessed it, warp text, using these settings: 

FINAL PRODUCT:

i hope i made it somewhat understandable, it’s a process and half of it is just playing around and testing things out until i find something i like the look of. don’t be afraid to ask if you have any additional questions.

[myhockeyworld87]

Choices - Tyler Seguin/Jamie Benn - Part 29

Word Count: 2,259

POV: Reader

Warning: Language

Notes: Back by no one’s demand...haha I’m not sure if anyone wants this back or not, but I promised I’d end it so here we go. There will only be a couple chapters left. As always, you’ll have 48 hours to vote, you can vote by commenting or sending it in on anon. Voting will close at 8pm EST on July 2nd. Happy Reading!

Choices Masterlist

You sat in Tara's kitchen just looking around. It was an open concept, so it gave you a view into her dining and living room as well. Her place, wasn't lavish by any means, not like Tyler's or Jamie's, but it did speak of someone that was well off or at least scamming enough money off of people to buy nice things. The place was neat and meticulous, nothing was out of place; which seemed odd for someone with a one and half-year-old. There should be toys lying around and a baby gate on the stairs, yet none of those things seemed to be anywhere.

 What was interesting, was that the prosthetic maternity belly she'd had on the other day lying on one of the dining room chairs. "What do you have that for?" You blurted out before you could even think of what you were saying.

 "Um…oh…I don't know what you mean. Do you need water or something? Should I call an ambulance?"

 Oh shit, you forgot you were supposed to be in pain. "Oooo," you moaned slightly. "I feel like it's getting a little better resting, and you know focusing on other things. Which is why I'm trying to figure out about that baby belly." You groaned again, hoping she would answer and help take your mind off of things.

 "Oh…um…that old thing. You see…I wanted to be an actress…Yeah, that's it." She said basically giving away that she was making this up as she went. "I had this role a long time ago, that I needed for it, and well…now a friend wants to borrow it. So I have it out for her."

 It would've been a plausible excuse had you not already seen her scamming that man the other day or the fact that she'd stammered her way through that excuse. You also had to wonder if the 'friend' was Kathleen. "Oh wow, being a mom must have really put a damper on things."

 "Yeah, it's really set my career back." She rattled off more easily this time as she settled into the lie. "There's just no time you know."

 You really weren't sure if she was asking or not. "I get where you're coming from. I have no idea how I'm going to do it. You know with leaving Tyler and all." She nodded, so you continued. "Like how do you keep this place spotless? I really need to know your secret. My place is a mess since I haven't felt like unpacking. I can't imagine what it'll be like with the babies."

 "Oh…well…you just have to do it when you can." She paused when you cocked your head to the side looking for more of an explanation. "I'm just a really active person I guess."

 You knitted your brows together because no mother was that active to have all her baby's stuff put away. Tara had given you enough information. Granted, you had no physical evidence but it was enough to go to Tyler with your suspicions. "I wish I had your stamina." You got up then. "Thanks for letting me sit down; I really think I just overdid it. I feel much better. I won't trouble you anymore. I know you were on your way out."

 "Oh, it was no bother. I'm glad your feeling better." She walked you out to the door, following you out.

 "So, I guess I'll see you around the neighborhood sometime then?"

 "Oh…uh yeah. I'm sure we will."

 The two of you walked to the end of the drive. "Thanks again. Maybe we can exchange numbers and get together. I'd love to meet Christopher sometime. You know get some real baby experience. It's been a while."

 "Yeah, next time I see you." She said opening the car and getting in. "I'm really late right now." You moved out of the way as she backed out of the drive and waved goodbye. You rolled your eyes as you made your way back to your vehicle which was parked out of sight. You knew she'd never exchange numbers with you, mainly because there was no Christopher to meet.

 By the time you got to the car, you knew that you had to tell Tyler what was going on, but you also knew that Jamie would be upset with you for doing it. You hated that the thought crossed your mind, but you knew that you had to meet Tyler without Jamie knowing. The problem was how. Jamie was practically attached to your hip when he was home and after being on the road this long you assumed it was going to be worse. The only thing you could do was head to Tyler's house and wait for him to get home.

 You shot a quick text off to Jamie, saying that you were out doing some shopping for the baby and would be home shortly; then you headed over to wait for Tyler. You parked in the driveway, just scrolling through emails when one caught your eye. It was from the paternity testing site that you'd used. You didn't have time to open it though, for Tyler's car pulled in beside you. He glared over at you through the window, before you both got out. "What are you doing here (Y/N)? I thought you never wanted to see me again."

 "We have to talk Tyler."

 "Apparently, we'll be doing that through our lawyers from now on." He slammed the car door shut with such force it made you jump.

 "Look this isn't about us." He started to walk away, so you blurted out. "It's about Christopher." That made him stop.

 "How do you…I mean…what…" He gave up then, you could see it on his face. "You better come in."

 You trailed him inside. The dogs greeting you like they hadn't seen you in months instead of days. Though you wanted to give them love and attention, now was not the time. Tyler reached into the fridge and grabbed a beer, cracking it open and taking a long swig out of it. "Do you want anything?"

 "Just a bottle of water please." You took a seat at the island like you had so many times.

 "So how do you know about him?" It was a simple question yet such a complex answer.

 "Remember when I said that the first sonogram was canceled." He nodded. "Well, I lied."

 "Jesus, (Y/N), you were shutting me out way back then?"

 "It's not like that. I hadn't planned on it, but I saw you in the parking lot with Tara and I recognized her." He winced, yet you could see him understanding why you'd cut him out of the appointment. "Once you left, I ran to talk to her. She told me that she'd had your child and you paid her to keep quiet."

 "Listen, I can explain."

 "No Tyler there's more, let me finish." He stayed mum then. "I was hurt and angry, and if I'm being honest; I still am, but we can deal with that later." The questioning glance he shot you made you keep going. "Other things started to not add up. I saw Tara with Kathleen, and then I ran into them at the coffee shop." You could see the news that the two knew each other, was something he didn't know. "Something they said, it just didn't sit right with me." This was the part you knew he wasn't going to like. "So while you were gone, I broke into your place." You ducked your head kind of sheepishly at your actions and waited for him to yell at you.

 He didn't. "Look (Y/N), I don't care that you were here. This place was always meant to be ours, but I have a feeling there's more than just that."

 "Oh, there is." You added quickly changing the subject back to the matter at hand. "I found the paternity papers. You know the ones Tara gave you and the ones Kathleen blackmailed you with."

 "You mean in the safe?" He was mad now, but you had a feeling it was more about the engagement ring that was in there and not you breaking in to find the documents.

 "Um…yeah. But look, Ty, the papers don't match." You pulled out your phone and brought up the photos. "There's a slight difference. See right here the fonts are off." He peered at the pictures, squinting in an effort to notice the subtle difference. "And here, the address is misspelled. I know it's hard to tell flipping back and forth, but if you put them side by side." He took off down the hall to his bedroom and you followed. It wasn't long before he had the documents out, to see if you were correct.

 "Fuck me, you're right."

 "The signature's even a tad different. See the S." You pointed out to him.

 "Ok, so this means that one of them is lying."

 "I think it's worse than that Ty." He pulled his head back slightly as if he couldn't believe your words. "Let me ask you something. Have you ever seen Christopher?"

 His hand went to the back of his neck and he dropped his head down so he didn't have to look at you, a tell-tale sign he was nervous, only this time you knew he didn't want to admit something to you. "No, no I haven't. It's just…" He went to tell you his reason why but you stopped him. There would be time for explanations later.

 "I don't think he exists Ty." His head snapped up to look you straight in the eye.

 "How do you know this?"

 It was your turn to be ashamed now. "I went to her house. Well, I actually followed her and Kathleen first. I found her pulling the scam on someone else. She has a prosthetic baby belly and when I was inside there's nothing there that says she has a kid, not a bottle, rattle, anything."

 You saw him processing the information and what a toll it was taking on him. He sat down on the bed heavily, papers falling to the floor as he did. "You mean all this time; I've been paying for my son and he just doesn't exist." You hadn't expected him to take it this hard; though it was a lot to digest.

 "I don't think he does Ty." You sat beside him then, rubbing his back in a soothing motion. "I'm so sorry."

 "I don't even know what I'm feeling right now. Like part of me is relieved and, yet...I feel sad." He looked over at you then. "I could never really acknowledge him, you know? When she told me, all I could think of was that was the reason you left me, and every time I thought about him…" He exhaled a heavy sigh. "God I can't even say his fucking name."

 "It's ok Ty. I get it," and you did. You realized that Christopher was just an extension of your failed relationship and would always remind him of that one night he fucked up. It made sense when you looked at from his point of view, but it didn't make the fact that he lied about sleeping with Tara any easier on you.

 "What am I going to do?"

 "Well for starters, I think you need to ask Tara for a paternity test. Someplace where you all can go and get tested at the same time. That way she can't trick you in any way. You'll know then if she's telling the truth because she'll have to bring Christopher with her."

 "Yeah, yeah," He nodded. "That's a good plan. Where did you go?"

 "Well mine was mail in, but I think they have a place here in Dallas. I just got an email from them." You pulled the correspondence up on your phone, flicking it open for the first time. "What? No? This can't be right?"

 "What? Is something wrong?"

 "It says here that they mixed up my paternity samples and gave me someone else's by mistake." It started to sink in then. Tyler may not be the father of your unborn children. "Oh my god." You could see the confusion written on Tyler's face.

 "(Y/N), what does this mean?"

 You'd said so much this afternoon to him, you didn't know how to break this news, but you still had to do it. "I don't know if you're the father of these two babies." He pulled back as if you'd slapped him across the face; he was so stunned, but then so were you. You had so many questions, but the foremost thing in your mind was you had to tell Jamie. You got up, ready to head out of the room.

 "Where are you going?"

 "I have to tell Jamie, Ty. He has to know the truth."

 "I don't know if that's a good idea."

 "Why not?" Honestly, you couldn't see any harm in this news. In fact, Jamie would be ecstatic.

 "What if you get his hopes up, just to be let down. I know he loves you (Y/N). Cause god knows I still do. Don't crush him, if you don't have to." You sat there weighing your options, not knowing what to do. Part of you knew Tyler was right, but it just seemed so wrong to lie to Jamie.

  ****************************************************************************************

  Your turn to make a choice!

A)     Tell Jamie the truth, he needs to know.

B)     Decide to get a paternity test with just Tyler. Once you know the results you can tell Jamie.

[gorringe]

Food types cookbook - final improvements to initial final outcome

After my final critique with my initial final outcome which I discussed with Justin. I felt like the test didn’t fit well with the the imagery they didn’t fit together due to not having similar characteristics for example not creative enough. I find it quite difficult to choose fonts which fit correctly.

Which was pointed out but Justin. He suggested that I should experiment and play around with the idea of creating a zine to fit better with my narrative. Coming back from a skate and creating something half decent and cooked. Justin suggested playing around with the idea of a zine skate cookbook. Which sounded like a great idea and would fit a lot better within my narrative.

I started to write down a couple ideas of how I could make this zine look. I thought about making it more hand drawn due to most zines put together by hand bit like a scrapbook. I thought of cutting out yellow post it notes into to triangular shapes. I had a quick look at skate jawn.

I had a quick look at how they created there zines they use lots of black and white imagery across a double spread and then add small areas of text. I found this technique easy to read and quite similar to a comic. Although I wanted to keep my imagery in colour so that you could see the areas I emphasised on adobe draw.

When I came to experiment and adjust my layout on our workshop on campus. Sally told me to play around with some different type faces which would suit the layout and style better and maybe rearranging and placing most of the imagery on the right hand page. Due to most cookbooks doing this. Once adjusting the layout a couple times I found it difficult to take in two opinions to improve my work. So what I did was I used both sets of feedback and combine the two.

So that I had some hand drawn elements which Included which were based around the zine hand drawn sort of theme which Justin suggested. Then some other improvement areas which Sally suggested. I found that combining the two was successful and I played around with the layout and printed it out a couple more times just to re adjust and get to the point where I was happy with the outcome.

However I came to realise after printing out this copy of my cookbook that I hadn’t made it into a two page spread. Meaning I had to re create it onto the correct size. Although this was okay as I needed and wanted to try and play around with some more areas of the cookbook spread to improve it.

By placing the imagery on the right hand page was better due to most cookbooks doing this. Mainly having text on the left and imagery on the right. I wanted to add most of my imagery onto the double spread to show each step of the process with my added designs on top enhancing some of the areas. With the overlay of the skateboard making the narrative clearer. I was set with the imagery but the left hand page I felt still didn’t really look how I wanted it to look and didn’t look as professional like a cookbook with the combination of making it more like a zine. So Sally and I decided that experimenting with some hand drawn areas would improve the aesthetic of the page.

As I wanted the text blue I drew out with a blue biro a title and some sub headings in a playful eye catching font which I find that skaters would appeal and be drawn towards due to its quirky font styling similar to a skate type face? . As the ones I have now just look rather boring and bland. It needed to be spiced up a little more. Once I drew out my headings and title I photographed them and then changed the brightness and exposure so that they would fit within the white background.

I was surprised at how well they came out I adjusted them to fit onto the spread. I found that by adding some hand drawn areas really improved it and made it stand out whilst fitting better within my chosen narrative.

Meatballs and nachos cookbook 300 words

I wanted to create a cookbook which I could relate to and use myself. Whilst being busy all day and wanted something quick and easy to prepare. So I thought about what I spend my time doing all day and then coming back to prepare something quick and easy but half decent.

With the imagery which I’ve included on the cookbook final outcome I overlaid and outlined some of the food on each photo to enhance the process and to fit with the skate visual theme. By adding a full page of photos to the recipe book it it gave an easy and visual way to follow as like myself and others I find imagery on a page a lot more engaging rather than just one photo and a massive recipe.

I played around with hand drawn title and subheadings with a biro and then photographed them and played around with the exposure and brightness so they would fit onto the white background. I made the recipe and ingredients blue to fit with the title and subheadings as I found black to be a boring and wanted something a bit different colour wise.

I wanted to have a bit about the whole point of the cookbook which I found hard placing within the cookbook. So I decided to add it in between the skateboard design I created on adobe draw which is placed between both pages.

It’s taken a lot of fiddling and rearranging to get where the cookbook is now due to it not looking how I wanted it. Usual feedback from Sally and Justin in making the layout look better which I’ve also taken into consideration in improving the overall look and aesthetic to the cookbook. But it’s definitely been usual feedback in making it look as good as I can make it.

[dallaswebsite]

Web Design Trends in 2020: Are you ready to increase conversions?

Simple animations and GIFs, brutalism, microinteractions, diversity: get to know the 10 main Web Design trends for this year.

As a good Web Design professional, you should already know that it is necessary to be aware of all changes in the market to have a competitive advantage among your competitors.

A few years ago, design trends moved towards unrestrained creativity – abandoning traditional grids and photos in exchange for vibrant illustrations, bold color schemes and asymmetric layouts.

In other years, technological advances have made websites smarter (with machine learning and subtle interactions) and these changing paradigms have influenced design trends (hamburger menus, anyone?).

In 2020, web design trends will see these two sides of the coin – aesthetics and technology – come together like never before.

So if you want to know what Web Design trends are in 2020, check out our article and find out if any of them could be the key to increasing your conversions!

1. Vertical page transition

It is not new that people want information faster and faster on the internet. And one of the characteristics of the new user is that he is in a hurry, does not like to wait.

Therefore, one of the trends of Web Design in 2020 is the transition of pages smoothly, and preferably, vertically.

That’s because the feeling of clicking on a link and waiting for it to open looking at a completely white background is unpleasant and leaves the user impatient, which can increase their bounce rates.

The transition makes the action smooth and reduces the feeling that the user is waiting for something.

In addition, vertical movement (from bottom to top) generates familiarity and improves usability on both desktop and mobile devices, as this is the standard page scrolling movement.

Combining this strategy with an SEO consultancy to increase the loading speed of your website, it is possible to increase your conversions and improve the user experience.

2. Simple animations and GIFs

No user likes to access a page and find only columns and more columns of text. Therefore, it is the obligation of every Web Designer to insert images to optimize a website.

However, with the insertion of GIFs on Facebook, WhatsApp and other social networks, people are becoming more and more familiar with the animations.

Therefore, a trend in Web Design and 2020 is to use simple animations, but that guide the user to the important points of the page.

In addition to making a website more dynamic, animations inserted at the right moment of the user’s journey can be decisive in guiding the lead to take the action you want.

GIFs can also be very useful, especially to demonstrate simple actions in a few seconds, without the need to produce a video.

3. 3D illustrations

One of the main trends for Web Design in 2020 is to use 3D illustrations as a replacement for photos.

The idea is to exchange the common “text and image on the side” for a centralized illustration that shows the brand’s solutions in a cleaner way.

The main advantages of using illustrations are:

generate user identification;

explain the process of using your product / service clearly;

helps to humanize the brand;

ideal for businesses with more than 5 people, as it does not exclude groups of people.

In addition, you can assemble the illustrations based on the visual identity of the brand, reinforcing the company’s branding and generating more trust in the user.

4. Brutalism

Hated by some and loved by others, brutalism is a design style focused only on functionality, ignoring the appearance of a website. As a consequence, websites with brutalist design present disorderly elements, very aggressive fonts and little refinement, creating a very “raw” appearance. Many people find the style uncomfortable, but recently it has gained popularity among young audiences, especially when used with elements of the 90’s web. In addition, it is possible to set up a brutal website that is functional and does not look so aggressive, just select the elements used and, of course, test! The truth is that the style can work, but it will depend on your brand strategy, your goal and, mainly, your audience.

5. Serifs on the screen

We’ve all heard the rule that serif fonts are for printing and sans serifs are for screen / digital. But what would become of web design trends if they were not to shake that “old idea formed about everything”? While the sans family, with its clean readability, is still the preferred one to be applied in long texts – be it copy or institutional texts – more and more brands are betting on a serif font. The bold serif can have a very interesting effect on headings and headlines or headlines. There is a good reason for this: serifs are designed to be decorative, making them perfect for showing emphasis. And even though serifs are often associated with the past, they are extremely versatile and more adaptable than you might think. Take, for example, the rounded serifs that represent the joyful brand of Mailchimp.

6. Black and white palettes

Color is one of the most important elements of a website. It creates a mood, unifies a brand and guides users through an interface, creating points of visual reference. For 2020, we are seeing several sites using a black and white color scheme, to dare and give more visual prominence. Color is literally how we see the world through the particles of light being absorbed. When color is lacking, we begin to see the world differently: textures and shapes become clearer, and the world seems noticeably slower, still.

White by itself is clean and reserved, while black is strong and assertive. Combine these and you will have a completely striking appearance, with the ideal light and contrast. Ironically, the biggest effect that black and white designs can have is their combination with minimal amounts of color. Adding an accent color will not only break that monochromatic air, but will make points of interest and calls to action stand out.

7. Natural and organic forms

Although websites are typically set up for systematic grids, designers are turning to natural shapes and smooth lines. Geometric structures such as squares, rectangles and triangles with their sharp corners create a feeling of stability, but the trends of 2020 are more concerned with the feeling of accessibility and comfort. Since organic shapes are naturally imperfect and asymmetrical, they can provide depth to the page layout. The shapes are based on nature (think of the curved shapes of trees and mountains), but they can also be elements drawn freely, to give the idea of ​​spontaneity of accidents caused by man, such as paint splashes, coffee stain, or something like that. . The goal here is for the layout to be more “human” and alive through this illusion of movement.

8. Microinteractions

Microinteractions are events with a purpose: to surprise the user and create an inviting and humane event.

Every time you perform a small action on a website or application and there is a specific response to it, this is a microinteraction.

When you update a Twitter page and hear a beep, this is a micro-interaction. Or when you check Facebook, the red icon displaying your message count is also a micro-interaction.

These were the most common uses of them, but in 2020, sites will have their most interactive incarnations. The user can hover or scroll the page to activate animations and other effects.

In short, this is a way to engage your target audience on your website, convey information to users about your actions and make websites a little more intelligent and interactive.

9. Even more video content

Video content not only diversifies the page, but serves a moving audience that doesn’t have time to read a lot of text.

Be it a video explaining your service or a background video, to give more movement to the site.

However, using videos on the site is nothing new, what is new is the movement that Google has made. The search giant favored sites that use videos on its pages in search results.

10. Diversity

Often, people forget that the web has always been accompanied by two more important ones: “World Wide”. The internet connects billions of people around the world from different cultures, skills, ages, gender identities – people who want to see themselves reflected in their content.

Even small considerations from the past (like Apple’s varying skin tones for emojis) went a long way to making people from all walks of life feel more welcome in a brand’s digital space.

In 2020, web designers should take an even greater leap towards inclusion, from improved accessibility standards to socially aware and diverse images.

The world still has a long way to go in this arena, but designers today can use their art to demonstrate that the web must be plural, about real people making real connections.

In the end, trends come and go. Some last for decades, while others are simply a flash. What matters is that you remain true to the brand you are creating for.

Choose the trends that best align with the company’s values. If something is trended, it doesn’t mean you have to adopt it. You need to choose the trends that are useful to make your projects more effective and impactful.

Did you write down all the tips or are you already testing them? So leave your comment if any of them worked!

The post Web Design Trends in 2020: Are you ready to increase conversions? appeared first on Dallas Web Design Company | Best Web Designers In Dallas.

source https://dallaswebsite.design/web-design-trends/

[docholligay]

In Which I Drive 17 Hours to Act Like a Goof

I want to preface this story with the advice that if you ever get the chance to meet Jen Cohn, you should do it. You should do it if you have only a passing interest in Fareeha Amari, even. She is an incredibly gracious, funny, and very very kind woman, and I am grateful that if I was going to act like I had never met another human being in my life, it was to an incredibly gracious, funny, and very kind woman. 

I also want to preface this story with the caveat that I am remembering this to the best of my ability, but there were parts, dear reader, where I believe my brain simply shorted out and left the building, very likely cruising over to some bar to have a drink and pretend it had never known me, and I understand the inclination. 

Lastly, I want to say that the only thing that keeps me from retreating to the mountains in shame is that if nothing, I am probably not the most awkward person she has ever met. 

But I’m probably up there. 

If you click beyond the read me, you solemnly swear that you will try to view this with a charitable eye, and please carry with you every positive thought you have ever had of me.  

I brought my fanfic to the con. This isn’t the first fanfic I’ve ever had signed–my sister got me Charlotte Chung’s autograph, and a friend is getting me Crispin Freeman’s–but it’s the first one I’ve ever gotten signed myself. With this, I reasoned, I would have three of my top five characters, and one of my top two, and so really the eight and a half hour drive each way wasn’t that big of a deal. So I planned it out, went to an Office Depot and had them print two copies, in case I lose or ruin one, on 24 pound linen resume paper like I’m John fucking Milton, and headed to Salt Lake. 

I wasn’t nervous the whole time I was in the con. I cruised artist alley, looked at the pinball machines, and strolled around waiting for her booth to open, picking out what to say, thinking I was going to play it VERY cool because I am a neat, casual, funny lesbian, and not an awkward lesbian disaster. 

Oh ho ho, hubris, you who makes a mockery of us all. 

I’m standing in line, waiting, and suddenly it occurs to me that while this fanfic is not, in the strictest sense, about her, it is, to some extent, about her. I can feel myself blushing as I’m sitting here writing this two days later, and at the con it was this overwhelming sense of HOW STUPID ARE YOU, HOLLIGAY? IT ISN’T EVEN THAT GOOD. I swear to god I felt tears spring to my eyes, and I was suddenly so EMBARRASSED of myself that I wanted to run. I started to shake. 

Luckily or unluckily, depending on how you take the tale, Nikki was right next to me. Nikki, our preeminent Pharah main and Definitely Not Super Invested in Pharmercy friend, was in no way going to allow me to bold. We had driven eight and a half hours last night, and we were literally going to drive eight and a half hours the next morning, for mostly this reason. I was not going anywhere. 

We get up there, and it should be noted that I’ve never met a celebrity at a con. I’ve met musicians after concerts and stuff, but nothing this structured, it’s usually just someone with a guitar sitting on the edge of the stage shooting the shit because that’s a solid 89% of concerts I attend. All of this might be very par for the course, but if stories I’ve heard are any indication, and things going on around me were normal, it could just be a Jen Cohn thing. 

She introduces herself as Jen and sticks her hand out to shake mine, and thank god my name is three letters and one syllable because I managed to remember it. I’m still holding my fanfic in front of myself, the spare copy still safely pressed in the cardboard bag. Nikki is chatting, because she still has the capability of speech, while I’m mostly shaking my head yes and no. 

I don’t remember how it came up, but Nikki said that we had driven here from Montana, and that it was about eight and a half hours each way, and that we had done it mainly to see her. Jen Cohn’s eyes lit up and she walked around from the booth and hugged us both, which I was not at all expecting, but was so sweet and felt so genuine and so kind. 

I’m just going to buy a print, I think, and have her sign it. 

But once again, Nikki was next to me. Jen is asking if we play Overwatch, and I’m nodding my head, and if I had the capability of speech, I might have said, I love Pharah as a character, so much, but her playstyle is a little beyond me, I stick to Tracer, harass is really my game. But I didn’t, and, so I didn’t. And then I hear Nikki. 

“We’re really more on the creative side of things, my friend here…”

O H N O. 

It’s not just my head that’s shaking now, it’s my whole body. I am a tiny Jewish maraca that can’t even keep time. 

Nikki must have said something about me having a fanfic, because I managed to present it. I even managed to set it on the table! And I haven’t creased it, or ruined it, or anything. 

She’s never had anyone bring her fanfiction before, she says, but she doesn’t say it like I thought she would, like no one has ever done it because it’s cringeworthy, but with a sense of surprise and delight. And then, it happens.

Jen Cohn starts reading my Fareeha Amari fanfiction. She starts reading my Fareeha Amari fanfiction and telling me I should contribute to the Pharmercy zine, they’re doing a round two and they didn’t add fanfic last time, but they might and they should. 

What I want to do, is shake my head and tell her not to read it, assure her that’s it’s all rather quasi-canonical, and not good besides, I want to take it away before she can realize that it’s all so terrible, and oh my god now she’s moving to the second page. 

But what I say instead is, “I have another copy, if you want it.” 

And I do, Merriwether font size 11, eight pages of white linen resume paper at 24 pound test, so it would hold up, you see. So it would stay nice. Maybe I said it because I didn’t want her to read it in front of me, that I hoped she would put it in some stack somewhere and forget about it. Maybe I said it because I did want her to read it, because I hoped, like I do with every reader, that it would do something for her, in some way. 

She said she’d love that, and as I’m going to set it on the table, still shaking so badly that I’m sure I look like I’m coming down off a weeklong bender, she asks me if I’ll please sign it for her. I nod, and as I go to take the pen from in front of me, her poor handler looks like she thinks I’m going to pass out, and I do feel a little like passing out, now as she mentions it with her eyes. 

I’m not sure what I wrote. I know it was some variation on thank you, and I doubt she could read it anyhow, my handwriting being terrible in the best of times and at the point we are in the story, it has disintegrated to this sort of rune-like text, as if I were practicing my Hebrew letters and forgetting that this is English. I signed it, and she signed my copy, and I carefully tucked it back in the bag with the careful folds, where it would be safe. 

There’s a million things I might have told her. That I loved the voice she gave Pharah, that I thought it was so wonderful how much she was behind Pharah/Mercy. That I’m Jewish too, and growing up with my major representation being Fievel Mousekewitz, while I know we’ll never have one in-game, sometimes it’s nice to imagine that a character you love might be Jewish. 

I did none of them. I mostly shook and stared. 

Nikki had no such problems. She was funny and engaging and decided she had to buy the Pharah/Mercy print, despite already having a print, because she does not care about them AT ALL, it is important for all to note, and she definitely doesn’t want to hang it in the office where she can stare at their gay faces. 

This is a good time to insert that Jen Cohn and Lucie Pohl both had this print, signed by the other, for people to buy, with all proceeds going to the Ali Forney Center. If you take nothing else away from this story, let it be that they are both using their fame for something good. 

Her paint marker screwed up and she turned a huge blotch of paint into this amazing huge heart, all the while laughing about how much love was on this print, all the love, and I actually did laugh, even in my sort of catatonic state. 

In conclusion, she was so amazing and lovely, and while *I* acted like a complete doofus (and Nikki may be able to fill in stuff I forgot) she was incredible and warm and one of the most positive, if not the most positive, celebrity experience I have ever had. She didn’t make me feel like I was acting like an awkward loser at all, even though I VERY clearly was, and again I cannot recommend enough that if you ever have the chance to even say hi to her, I’d do it. 

I still haven’t had the courage to see what she wrote to me. Maybe when I’m a little less embarrassed. 

The rest is on Patreon because it’s much more personal.

[nes-writing-paradise]

Anniversary Surprise

Au: Okay so the other chapter was taking too long so I decided that I’ll post this one first! This chapter does have some timeskips and stuff so I’ll point those out when they happen.

Plot: Yena decides to do something special for their anniversary with a little help from her members while still surprising them.

~A few weeks ago~

Yena looked around the living room, smiling fondly at all the members. The ten of them were having a lazy morning together at the dorm, relaxing before they had to go to schedules later in the day. Everyone sat in various places around the room, talking quietly or sitting in silence with a book or on their phone. She noticed how relaxed everyone was as they lounged around and she turned her head to look downwards. Her smile grew at the sight of Jisung, who was laying on the couch with his head on her lap as Yena played with his hair. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through her through his hair, deep in thought. Noticing her distracted state, Jisung turned to look up at her and poked her cheek. In response, she blinks and looks down at him as he tilts his head. 

“Is something wrong Noona?” he asked her. She smiled and ruffled his hair. 

“Nothing, Sungie. I was just thinking.” she said, earning a curious look from Jisung. “I’ve been thinking of getting a tattoo.”

“A tattoo?” Jisung asked, his voice louder then hers as he sat up in surprise, gaining the other members’ attention.

“What about a tattoo?” Minho asked from his spot on the other side of the couch. 

“Noona said she wants to get a tattoo.” Jisung answered him. 

“Wait, really Gen?” Minho turned to Yena with a look of surprise. 

Yena shrugs. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I just don’t know what it would be.” she said. 

“Why haven’t you brought this up before if you’ve been thinking about it for so long?” Chan asked.

“Well I mean, I was still unsure about it until now. What do you guys think? Should I get one?” she asked. There was a moment of silence as everyone considered it. Then Changbin finally spoke up.

“I think if would be cool if you had a tattoo, Noona.” he says with a shrug, some of the other members nodding in agreement. 

“You think so?” Yena responds.

“Yeah.” Chan chimed in. “It’s your choice if you want one or not, but either way, its fine by us.” he says.

Yena smiles. “Glad to hear that. “ she says. “Now onto the other thing dealing with the tattoo that I was kind of thinking about it.” she added.

“What other thing?” Jeongin asked curiously. 

Yena took a moment to organize her thoughts. “So you know how I said I wasn’t sure what to get even if I get a tattoo?” she started looking at the others. “Well, I want my first tattoo to be something really special so...” she paused, dragging out the last word before continuing. “I want you guys to choose the tattoo for me.”

Her words were followed by silence as the nine boys processed Yena’s words. They all stared at her in surprise while she smiled at them, hopefully. 

“...Genie are you sure?” Chan asked. “That’s a big deal, do you really want to give us the responsibility of something that will be on you permanently?” he adds, making Yena nod without any hesitation. 

“Yeah, I want you guys to choose my first tattoo.” she said wit certainty in her voice. “I trust you guys and I want this tattoo to have a special meaning.” she explained. “I know I’ll love what you guys choose so... please?” 

Minho sighed, then smiled. “If you’re absolutely sure about it. I guess we can.” he agreed, looking at the others, who hesitated a bit before agreeing, Yena smiled. 

“We won’t disappoint you Noona.” Jisung said, leaning back down to lay on her lap again as she beamed at him. 

“I know you won’t, Sungie.” she stated, ruffling his hair. “Oh! Don’t tell me what you guys decide on. I want it to be a surprise.” she added. 

“Do you know where you want it though?” Woojin asked. 

Yena nodded. “I’m thinking of putting it on the back of my shoulder.” she replied. 

“We accept this mission!” Felix suddenly burst out, making everyone laugh,.

~Weeks Later~

Two weeks had passed since Yena asked the boys about the tattoo and by now, they all started to have a lot of fun with the idea. The boys seem to have taken a liking to messing around with Yena, suggesting ridiculous ideas for the tattoo. The members loved to make jokes about the entire situation, Yena realized very early on. 

“Hey Noona.” Hyunjin called out when he entered the kitchen where Minho and Yena were leaning on the counter and eating toast. 

Yena looked up at him as she took a bite of her food. “Yes Jinnie?” she replied. 

Hyunjin smiled innocently. “How do you feel about having ‘red light, green light swag’ as a tattoo.” he asked. From behind Yena, Minho faked a cough, trying to stifle his laughter. 

Yena rolled her eyes, jokingly. “I regret asking you guys to do this.” she said with a sigh. Hyunjin and Minho burst into laughter. 

“If not that, then what about the ‘nana’s from My Pace?” Minho suggests, making Hyunjin giggle. Yena covers her face with her hands to try and hide her own laughter. 

“Or just have Felix’s entire verse from Mixtape #3.” Hyunjin added between fits of laughter. 

“You two are having way too much fun with this.” Yena said, stifling her giggles. 

“Hey guys. Whats so funny?” Felix asked as he and Jisung walked into the kitchen. 

“We’re deciding that Yena’s tattoo is going to be the ‘nanana’s from My Pace.” Minho answered, making Yena snort while trying not to giggle and the three other members burst into laughter. 

“Guys be serious.” Felix said, suddenly halting his laughter. “Obviously the tattoo needs to be to be Jisung’s ‘Wow, she’s hot’ from Wow.” he said, earning a shout of protest from said boy. 

Yena covers her face as they all laugh and she shakes her head. “I knew I should have just asked Chan.” she said but her smile betrayed her... until she realized Jisung stole her toast.

~With the boys a few days later~

The nine boys crowded around the computer, talking over each other. They had waited until Yena left the dorm before they started discussing ideas. Minho’s phone buzzed while they were all arguing and he unlocks it.

“Yena says she won;t be home for several hours because her and Dongyeol are at a dog cafe and the puppies need their attention.” he announced, reading her text with a chuckle.

“Okay perfect.” Woojin says with a chuckle. “That gives us enough time to try and come to some kind of a decision.” he stated. 

Seungmin nodded. “So we have decided that the actual tattoo is going to be song lyrics.” he said. 

“Yeah, and we also have the list of lyrics narrowed down to two...” Woojin agreed, looking at the list Chan had pulled up on the computer. 

“Now we just need to choose one.” Changbin added. 

After some silent consideration, Minho spoke up. “I think we should go for the first one. The second one is kind of too long.” he pointed out and the others nodded. 

“Good point.” Chan said, as he erased the second lyrics. “Now we just need a design.” he informed.

“Well it’s Noona, so it has to have some elegance to the design.” Jeongin suggested. 

“And it should be something simple, knowing her.” Jisung added, Minho and Woojin nod. 

“Agreed.” he says, starting to test out different fonts while everyone watches the screen. “Lets keep the color black?” he asks, earning sounds of agreement from the others. 

They went through about nine different fonts, arguing about different fonts until they were down to two. But out of those two fonts, the boys just could not come to a conclusion. 

After several minutes of arguing, Felix had enough. “Okay let’s decide this once and for all.” he walked up to the screen and looked between quote in the two fonts which were written side-by-side. Then he moved his finger back and forth between the two while the others stared. “That one!” he said, when his finger came to a stop, landing on one of the fonts. 

“D-did you just use eanie meanie to choose that?” Chan asked him.

Felix smiled and nodded, “I mean, nobody else had any better ideas.” he defended. 

“Works for me.” Seungmin said with a shrug and the others agreed.

~4 days before the anniversary~

Yena knocked on the door leading into the studio Chan uses, opening the door when she heard him answer. She poked her head through the door and smiled. “Hey Chris.”

Chan turned to look at her and smiled back, gesturing for her to come in. “Hey Genie. Whats up?” He greeted. Yena walks in and closes the door behind her. She takes a seat in the chair beside Chan.

“I was wondering, Minho said that you guys decided the final design for my tattoo right?” She asked, earning a nod from Chan. She smiled. “Would you be willing to get some free time tomorrow evening then? Like for an hour or two?”

Chan looked at her in confusion. “I guess we can make some time.” He said, running through their schedules in his head. “Why?”

“I want to get the tattoo tomorrow and I don’t want to crowd the shop and take everyone.” She explained. “So, I want you to come with me as moral support.” She said.

Chan smiled. “Sure thing Genie.” He agreed. “Why so soon though?” He asked.

“I kinda want to get it before our anniversary as like a surprise thing for everyone” she explained.

Chan nodded. “Alright then, tomorrow it is!” He said. Yena beamed and lunged to hug him, almost kicking her chair over.

“Thank you!” She said excitedly.

Chan chuckled and hugged her back. “Sure thing, Genie.”

~Evening the next day~

Chan and Yena sat at a table outside a small convenience store, munching the last of the food they had gotten from the store. There was about half an hour until the tattoo appointment and Chan had insisted on Yena eating something before-hand since she will be losing blood in the process.

“You nervous?” Chan suddenly asked, opening his bottle of water.

Yena nodded. “Yeah a little bit.” She said, tugging her fluffy bomber jacket closer around her. “Mainly because its my first tattoo... and I just realized that I don’t really like needles.” She stated.

Chan chuckled. “You’re gonna do great Gen.” he reassured her. “And I’m going to be there anyway so don’t worry too much.” He added.

Soon they were done with their food and were on their way to the tattoo shop. Yena had linked her arm to Chan’s as they got closer to the shop, her hand tightening on his arm. Chan smiled and patted her hand as they walked into the shop.

They were greeted by one of the employees as soon as they entered. “Hello! What can we do for you?” The employee asked.

Yena smiled nervously. “Hello, I called yesterday to book a tattoo appointment.” She informed them, making the employee nod and opened up their appointment book. Then Yena gestured towards Chan. “I said that my tattoo was going to be a surprise for me so he is going to be the one explaining the tattoo.” She explained and Chan nodded.

The employee seated Yena in the lobby and lead Chan into another room to talk about the tattoo design. While she waited, Yena began to text some of her friends, informing them about her whereabouts. She smiled as she received words of encouragement from her friends.

Yena soon heard footsteps and looked up to see the tattoo artist and Chan walk back into the room. Yena put her phone back into her bag and stood up and Chan smiled at her.

“Alright, are you ready?” The artist asked as he lead her and Chan to a different room where the machines are located.

Yena took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, let’s do this.” She says.

The artist nods and instructs Yena on what to do as he pulls another chair over for Chan to sit in near Yena’s chair. Yena takes off her jacket and hands it over to Chan, leaving her in a halter top, as she sat down and let the artist put the stencil on the back of her shoulder.

“Does that look like what you were thinking about?” The artist asked Chan after placing the stencil on Yena. Once gaining Chan’s nod of approval, he quickly got to work setting up the inks, needles and everything else that was needed. “Alright, let’s get started.” He said, picking up his machine once he had everything set up. “This shouldn’t take too long but let me know if you need a break, okay?” He informed Yena, who nodded.

The machine buzzed to life and Yena reached her hand out towards Chan, immediately. Chan smiled and held onto Yena’s hand, giving it a light squeeze. Once the machine actually made contact with Yena’s skin and the process began, she seemed to visibly relaxed.

“Not as bad as you thought?” Chan asked her when he saw the tension leave her shoulders.

Yena shook her head, “Its not too bad. It kind of feels like a small pinching feeling.” She answered.

As the tattooing process continued, Chan and Yena started to talk about random things, Chan trying to distract Yena seeing as she was getting more fidgety. He kept a hold on her hand the entire time and kept her busy in random conversations about movies, books and anything else as the artist worked.

Finally after about an hour, the machine was finally turned off and the artist sat back and announced that it was done. Yena let out a sigh of relief and finally let go of the death grip she had on Chan’s hand. Chan stood up and walked behind Yena to check it out first as the tattoo artist went to go get a mirror in order for her to see it.

“Oh wow.” Was his initial reaction.

“Does it look good?” Yena asked him, anxiously.

“Yeah! It looks amazing.” Chan replied. The tattoo artist soon came back with a hand mirror and motioned them over to the full length mirror on the wall. “Ready to to see it?” Chan asked as Yena stood up.

Yena nodded nervously and accepted the mirror from the artist and turned to face away from the full length mirror. She adjusted the hand mirror to see the tattoo and gasps when she see it. The black ink stood out against red skin around it from the process. It was a simple quote designed in black ink and a beautiful cursive writing. A smile made its way onto Yena’s face when she made out the words and put the quote together. She looks over at Chan, who stood off to the side, smiling widely while hiding his phone as if recording her.

“Do you like it?” He asks her, already knowing her answer, judging by her reaction.

Yena nodded excitedly, a wide smile on her face. “I love it!” She exclaimed. “I knew I made the right decision to have you guys do this.” She says as she put down the hand mirror. She jumps over to hug Chan, making him laugh as she does so. He hugs her back and pats her back while he laughs.

“I’m glad.” He said as they let go of each other and handed her back her jacket. “We knew that was one of your favorite lyrics and we knew how much you loved the song so..” he trailed off, beaming at her as the artist came back with some supplies.

They quickly get the tattoo patched up by the artist and pay for the tattoo. As they leave the shop, the artist give Yena a sheet of instructions on how to take care of it to make sure it heals properly since it is an open injury. After leaving the shop, Yena skims through the things written on the sheet, and relays the information to Chan of things she will need. They stop by the store on the way home to pick up up things needed and then head home.

“What do you think about now telling the others about this yet?” Yena asks Chan suddenly as they near their dorm building.

Chan glances at her in confusion. “What do you mean, Gen?” He asks her.

“How about, we keep the tattoo a secret for now?” She replies, turning to look at him. “It should be fully healed in a few days so... how about we keep this between us for now and then I reveal it on our anniversary day.” She explains. Chan thinks for a second then smirks.

“Sure. The boys are going to get the shock of their life.” He says with a chuckle.

~Anniversary Day~

Yena grinned excitedly as her and the others piled into the dorm after practice. She exchanged a knowing look with Chan, who smiled back at her and nodded. They then began to usher the other members into the living room, claiming that there was a surprise for them, earning confused looks from the members.

Yena stood in the middle of the living room, in front of the members who stared at her in confusion. She looked over at Chan, who stood to the side with his phone out to capture the members’ reactions.

“What’s going on, Noona?” Jisung asked looking up at her from his place on the arm of the couch.

Yena took a deep breath and looked at the members. “So.. remember when I had you guys design a tattoo for me?” She asked, earning nods from all the members as looks of recognition slowly appear on their faces.

“Are you finally going to get it?” Felix asked excitedly. Yena and Chan chuckled at the excitement of the eight members. “Do we get to see you get the tattoo?”

“Well... not exactly.” Chan replied. “It’s too late to watch it live, but I did get a video of her reaction.” He added.

“Wait... you already got it?” Woojin asked her.

Yena smiled and turned around letting her jacket fall off her shoulder to reveal her, now healed, tattoo. She heard gasps from behind her and a chuckle from Chan.

“Happy anniversary guys.” She said, looking over her shoulder with a smile on her face.

The 8 members crowded around Yena to get a better view of her tattoo and even Chan put away his phone and joined them. After the initial shock had worn off and the members actually got a good look at the tattoo, they were in awe.

“It looks prettier then it did on the computer.” Minho comments with a smile.

Woojin nods. “It really does look amazing.” He adds before turning to Chan. “How did you know about it anyway? And what do you mean you got a video?” He questions him.

Yena laughs. “Well I couldn’t just go and get this without one of you guys since I didn’t even know what the design was. So I took Chan with me for moral support.” She explained, laughing at the slightly offended faces of the other members. “We went and got it done four days ago.” She added.

“And you hid it for so long?!” Felix exclaimed, sounding offended.

“I wanted it to be a surprise!” Yena defended, making the others laugh.

“Well it looks really pretty, Noona.” Jisung said, giving her a hug. “But I can’t believe you didn’t take me!” He added, making Yena chuckle.

“You?! She should have taken me too! I’m her best friend!” Minho exclaimed.

Yena rolls her eyes. “Thank you, Sungie.” She said while ruffling his hair. “And I couldn’t just take everyone! It would have gotten way too crowded!” She said defensively.

Woojin chuckled and shook his head. “Alright, alright. Leave her alone guys.” He said then turned to Chan. “Now, about that video.” He said.

Chan smiled and opened up his phone gallery as the 10 of them gathered around him to watch the video of Yena seeing her tattoo for the first time.

And there we go guys! My special anniversary chapter that I was very excited about! This chapter took a long time to write though! I really enjoyed writing it though so it’s all good.

Masterlist

[michelle-uxui-blog]

Week 12: Further user-testing with Jacky & Danny

We did further user testing on Jacky and Danny where we found many mistakes with our design (mainly the app) as we had been focussing too much on our kiosk. We hadn’t thoroughly considered the steps and actions a customer might take. We plan on making it more cohesive to the kiosk so the UXUI experience is seamless. Participant #7 Jacky

KIOSK: How would you order a drink from the creative series? How would you use the Pre-saved option?

That’s so good. So smart how it knows what you need to order

If you didn’t know what drink to order, what icon would you look to for help?

Clicked on the question mark.

What do you think about using apps to pre-order food? Have you ever used them before e.g. UberEats, Starbucks app…

It’s useful and I love how convenient it is, makes my life easier and saves a lot of time. Really good!

Tell me about your experience of using the app/ kiosk

KIOSK: The plus sign throws me off (kiosk customise screen)

What did you find easy or hard about the app/ kiosk?

APP: “how do I go back”

*nothing is scrollable yet*

“Isn’t the top sellers the same as the  weekly?*

What did you like the most about the app?

“I like how I could buy directly from the featured bit”

Would you like this flowchart feature to be incorporated into the app? Why?

“It’s goooodd It helps me decide”

Was there anything that you found difficult to understand?

Where is the order number?

I can’t go back

How do I get to …

Get rid of the plus (add to order) _______________________________________________________________

Participant #8: Danny

KIOSK: How would you order a drink from the creative series?

Straightforward to order however make the entire drink box tap-able. Was confusing how only the + key allowed me to view my customisable order. Move the plus sign with the ‘Add to Order’ button so you know what the plus sign is for.

How would you use the Pre-saved option?

Very convenient, I was wowed by how quick and easy this would make my orders in the future!

If you didn’t know what drink to order, what icon would you look to for help?

The question mark icon. But it was confusing how there was 2. If I didn’t know what to order instead have the text: ‘Need Help Deciding?’ rather than the? icon which could confuse users with needing help on how to order.

What do you think about using apps to pre-order food? Have you ever used them before e.g. UberEats, Starbucks app…

I think it’s very smart and high-tech, however, I haven’t used one before myself.

Tell me about your experience of using the app/ kiosk

App: I think it’s much better than the current app that Gongcha has. Better layout, more simple, leads to no confusion! (apart from the ‘?’ mentioned earlier)

Kiosk: I would prefer to actually use the kiosk over having to go to the checkout to order and wait in line.

What did you find easy or hard about the app/ kiosk?

Honestly, there was nothing that hard about using the app/ kiosk.

You could add a pop-up after you tap ‘add’ in the kiosk where it says ‘Your Order has been Added’ to make it clear that the order has been processed to check out.

What did you like the most about the app?

I liked the layout the most, it’s so easy on the eyes and the font fits well. Icon sizes complement the screen size.

Would you like this flowchart feature to be incorporated into the app? Why?

Yes because it helps first-timers decide what the most suitable drink is for them.

Was there anything that you found difficult to understand?

None in particular.

Reactive words:

User-friendly Easy to use Organised

[noita-taika]

Notes on “Tales of Finnish History – The Pagan Times“

Tales of Finnish History – The Pagan Times, Chapter V - by Julius Krohn, 1877

ISBN 978-952-5774-02-3

Notes by Hukkatar / @noita-taika​

Disclaimer: The original text is in Finnish and written in an old font. I have done my best to translate accurately what I have deemed to be the most important information. Please do not hesitate to send me asks!

1. The general nature of the religion

Ancestors believed everything has a spirit. Not only did they speak to animals as if they were people, but also things such as e.g. iron.

At the birth of iron, it had been tainted by snake’s poison, corrupting its true purpose.

To addition to all of the spirits, there were countless haltija that took care of nature. Every stone, tree, river, and animal, including humans, had a haltija that took care, guided and protected

Hukkatar’s note: In modern Finnish, haltija means “owner of something”, while haltia is used when talking about elves and sprites. However, when these two words are spoken out loud they sound exactly the same. I believe that these words most likely didn’t have any difference for the ancient Finns – an elf of the tree is a haltija.

If someone wished to call for something or protect themselves from something, they would turn to the haltija of that thing with prayers and offerings.

Not all haltija are equally powerful. Some were tied to specific trees or species of trees, while others had under their control the entire element. E.g. Pihlajatar is the haltija of rowan, while Tapio is the haltija of the forest.

The more powerful haltija were also called gods.

Ukko, the god of the sky, was considered the High God. However, while he did have a large influence and was often prayed to, most of the gods were independently powerful in their own elements.

2. Ukko, the Sky God

 Ukko, being the first revered god, was often simply called ‘Jumala’, meaning god, which is nowadays the word for the Christian God.

The origin of the word ‘jumala’ comes from the word ‘jumu’, or thunder, and the suffix –la indicates a location. Therefore, ‘jumala’ means home of the thunder - the sky.

Hukkatar’s note: Other such similar words are: Tapiola, Ahtola, Pohjola, Tuonela

When other gods began to appear, the name Ukko was given to the Sky God. It is an honorary name that showed people saw him as the High God.

Other names: Sky Father

Pitkänen, for ‘pitkänen’ (lit. long one) also means lightning, his weapon

Pauanne, for ‘pauke’ (lit. loud noise) means thunder, his voice

Ukko means ‘old man’. He was described to wear blue socks, colorful boots, and a fiery shirt. The rainbow was his hunting bow, from where he shot his steel arrows. His sword, Lightning, had a fiery blade that gleams and was pulled from a fiery sheath. But the most terrible was his voice, which even enemies didn’t wish upon each other

Ukko lived on the ninth heaven, upon the clouds, himself on the center of the sky. The road there went amongst the stars.

As the Sky God, Ukko took care and governed all the events that happened in the sky. Therefore he affected peoples’ lives outside; hunting, fishing, farming

Protected and took care of human and cattle. He was also a master at medicines and people prayed for him to drop some of his miracles with the rain. Wounds and pestilences were seen as evil spirits, and thus Ukko was prayed to defeat them with his sword and arrows. He also punished murderers, thieves and other evil.

Naturally he was also a god of war with his fiery weapons. He had a different name when in his war aspect, Turisas (also Tursas, Turis, Taara, Tyrjä), never used in other occasions

3. The Creation of the World

Despite Ukko being seen as quite mighty and powerful, the Finns didn’t believe this world to be only his creation. The only part which Ukko did was to separate the elements: with his hand he separated water from air, from water he separated the earth. However, everything was left unshaped and unorganized.

In the air, where it was very lonely, the youngest of the Air Maidens, Ilmatar, descended into the sea and became pregnant. A bluebill bird noticed Ilmatar’s knee poking out of the sea, and laid its eggs there. While incubating these eggs, Ilmatar moved her knee and the eggs broke into bits and pieces. From these pieces the world was formed.

At this point, the rest of the work was given to the sons of Kaleva (Kalevanpojat).

Hukkatar’s note: Referencing to Mythologia Fennica, Kaleva was a giant and a father of 12 sons; most of the names are forgotten. Kalevanpojat were also giants who worked miracles on the land

Väinämöinen, who was born from Ilmatar, and was the oldest and the wisest of all the sons, arranged the waters and lands into a more orderly fashion.

Pellervoinen decorated the land with all sorts of plants; pines, spruces, birches.

Ilmarinen, the great smith, raised above the heavens. He forged the Skylid (Taivaankansi).

The nature of creation of living beings varies and they didn’t all appear at once. Different poems tell the creation of these beings

4. The Haltija of the Sky

 Maidens of the Sky (Ilman Immet)

Daughters of Nature (Luonnottaret) also lived in the heavens, usually weaving and spinning.

Utu-tyttö or Terhenetär weaved fog

Uteretar made the steam in the sauna have healing properties

Päivätär, who weaved the silver of the sun; sun goddes

Kuutar, who weaved the gold of the moon; moon goddess

Otavatar, haltija of Ursa Major

Tähdetär, star goddess

Also male deities were present

Päivä-poika, god of day. People prayed him to return the next day. During winter they asked him to start the next cycle of the year.

Kuu-poika, god of night. All important things should begin when the moon is waxing to ensure good luck.

Poika Pohjantähti, god of North Star

Three homes in the heavens; Päivölä (home of day/sun), Kuutola (home of moon), and Tähtelä (home of stars)

Tuuli, wind god (* of varying moods and loyalties

*)Tuuli is today a feminine name

Tuuletar, wind goddess, daughter of Tuuli

Etelätär/ Suvetar. Goddess of summer winds and cattle.

Puhuri/Hyytämöinen, God of cold and north

Pakkanen, son of Puhuri. God of north wind.

5. The Haltija of the Sea

The highest haltija of the sea are Ahti (also Ahto, Ahta) and his wife Vellamo. Ahti is described to be an old, honorable man, with seaweed as his beard and sea foam as his clothes. Vellamo on the other hand beautiful, dressed in a reed dress. She is usually more even-mooded and helpful to humans than her husband

Live in Ahtola, in the bottom of the ocean, but also visit waters inland.

Have a large amount of children and servants, mainly female

Vellamo’s maidens

Aallotar, goddess of waves

Kuohu-neiti, goddess of rapids

Melatar, goddess of paddles

Pikku-mies (lit. little-man); first appears as a tiny little man, barely up to the belly of the woman. However, he suddenly grows up tall enough for his head to reach the clouds. Cut the massive oak tree that prevented the sun and moon from shining for Väinämöinen; also known as Tursas, Iku-Turso.

Asked for help when fishing or traveling on water

Everything that goes underwater becomes Ahti’s. Drowned people become his servants. Many treasures which Ahti uses to test humans from time to time. The pieces of the broken Sampo fell into the sea.

6. The Haltija of the Forests

 The ancient Finns thought the godly beings of the forests to be the most benevolent and helpful. As hunting and gathering were the main sources for food and materials at the time, this is only natural. Although Ukko is mighty with his thunder and lightning, the people loved more the haltija of the forests who gave them food to their bellies.

This changed when agriculture became more important. Ukko’s power and position rose considerably.

Tapio is the highest forest haltija with his wife Mielikki. Tapio is described to be a very tall old man with lichen as his beard; a hat made out of sprigs, and a jacket of moss. Due to his tall hat, he is also sometimes called Hippa.

Hukkatar’s note: Hippa is still one of the most popular games in Finland. The game itself is similar to tag, where you yell “hippa!” when you catch someone. “Hippasilla” also means to hide in a playful manner from something.

Tapio is described to be very precise with his kingdom and in all his doings.

Mielikki, sometimes called Mimerkki or Simanter, is the gentle forest hostess. She is described to be clean and dressed in a blue cloak and red socks. By nature she is gentler than her husband, an skillful in many ways. She carries the golden keys to Tapiola

Nyyrikki, son of Tapio, takecarer of squirrels

Hillervo or Tellervo, daughter of Mielikki, takecarer of otters

Tuulikki, daughter of Mielikki, goddess of grain

Metsän tytöt (Forest’s girls) or Sinipiiat (blue maidens) – Mielikki’s servants

Every tree species has its own haltija

Hongatar, Tuometar, Katajatar, Pihlajatar, Lemmes

Some animals have been nursed or brought to life by Mielikki or by one of her many children

Käreitär was the mother of foxes

Live in Tapiola, in the wildest of the Wilds. Also called Metsola, Lumilinna (snow castle), or Sarvilinna (Horned castle)

Three castles stand side-by-side; one of wood, one of bone, one of stone

 Mielikki serves there mead (sima)

7. The Haltija of the Earth Mother

There was little agriculture in ancient Finland, and what prayers were needed for the crops usually went to Ukko as he controlled the weather. However, the people still believed that the Earth itself also had a haltija, often called Maaemo (earth mother), Eukko or Akka (old lady). She is said to be Ukko’s wife. Together they watch the world, one from the heavens, and one from below the earth.

There are a few mentions of other haltija of agriculture; Pellervo or Pellervoinen, one of Kaleva’s sons, sometimes called Pellon Pekka; the Finnish harvest festival Kekri was most likely held in honor of the god himself, but if Kekri was a separate entity or another name for Ukko is not certain.

8. Tuonela or Manala; the Underworld

 All dead went to a place below the earth, far away from the living, across nine and a half oceans. What marked the border of Tuonela was Tuonen joki (Tuoni’s River), a river of black, angry water. It encircles Tuonela and was never mentioned without fear. Vows made by the river were the most sacred, most binding ones.

Tuonen tyttö (Tuoni’s daughter) ferries the dead across the river. Her face is dark and in her heart she is evil like the other denizens of Tuonela.

Everything is in Tuonela the same way as in the world of living, but by nature more evil and deadly. The soil is full of adders and the beer given to Tuoni’s guests is full of frogs and worms.The only source of light is a cold moon.

The ruler of Tuonela is Tuoni, other names are Threefingers, Mana and Manalainen. His wife is Tuonetar or Manatar, an ugly hag who weaves iron string. From this string Tuoni makes iron nets that his son, Tuonen Poika, uses across Tuoni’s river catching the undead that try to flee. Hence the saying: “Many go to Tuonela, but few return.”

Tuoni himself didn’t kill. Usually he sends Kalma to take care of it, or one of the deadly diseases. Loviatar, also Louhi, created diseases. She is the worst of Tuoni’s daughters, the most evil of Manattaret (female haltijas of Manala). She gave birth to nine diseases; sting, colic, gout, rachitis, eschar, cancer, abscess and plague. Her ninth son was the witch.

Hukkatar’s note: In some occasions Louhi is considered to be the wise of Tuoni or even the true ruler of Tuonela.

Another Tuoni’s daughters Kivutar or Kiputytyttö (pain daughter), took care of Kipuvuori (Painmountain) or Kipumäki (Painhill), which stood in a delta of the Tuoni river. It was possible to ask for her aid to take illnesses or pain, punish it, and force it to return to the mountain.

The dead work as servants to the haltijas but otherwise continued life as they had when living. Evil people Tuoni punished by giving them burning stony beds with adders as covers

Dead spirits were greatly respected and feared, but if pleased could give invaluable help and advice.

9. Hiisi and Lempo

A different kind of evil from Tuoni, Hiisi was maliciousness himself. He was called also Lempo or Paholainen. Hiisi and his people lived under the mountains, in a place called Hiitola. Other names are Piru and Perkele, words that come from the Samí thunder god Perun and Perkunas

Hukkatar’s note: Paholainen and Piru are today used to name the Christian Devil.

Hiisi’s favorite past time was to cause havoc and chaos. He created Syöjätär, an evil she-demon who then gave birth to animals like snakes and frogs, and caused their nature be corrupted. Hiisi also created wasps to sabotage Ilmarinen’s work and thus corrupted iron.

However, the ancient Finns rarely saw haltija as only evil or good. Ukko could sometimes seek revenge, or Ahti drown someone to get his treasures. Hiisi could be asked to punish robbers or ask for his moose to quickly ride the pain away.

10. Sukkamieli

Sukkamieli (lit. sock mind) or Lempi was the Finnish goddess of love. She had the power to alter the minds of others, for good or bad. Young women had various rituals to make prayers and offerings to her and ask for love.

11. Celebrations

At the end of November, the ancestors were ready for the winter and held a celebration for the upcoming year, called Vuodenalkajaiset. This was also time when the dead were allowed to come check on the living, which is why it’s also called Henkien päiviksi. The sauna was heated up as if someone was going to use it, and good food was brought to the ancestor spirits to enjoy upon. If pleased, they would give many blessings to the living for the year to come. The host himself would welcome the invisible guests and a day later wish them farewell. The dead also enjoyed silence, and people went to great lengths to avoid causing noise during these liminal days.

Kekri was most likely the same celebration

Another main celebration was Vakkue or Ukon Vakat in May, when the seeds were sown into the earth. A vakka was filled with sacrifices and then taken to a sacred mountain for Ukko. This was to ensure a good summer weather so that the crops would grow and hunt plentiful. Helajuhlat were also celebrated around this time. Girls and boys would dance around a bonfire, called helavalkeat. To young girls women wished luck with marriage, and to women girls wished luck with children.

Hukkatar’s notes: These two celebrations, Kerki and Hela, are in nature very similar to Samhain and Beltane. Vappu is Mayday, a somewhat modern thing but I believe it happens at the same time as Hela and/or Vakka did – it simply was too cold to sow the seeds before May. The image below is my take on the Finnish Wheel of Year with personal touches. The year begins from Kekri (Samhain). Take it for whatever worth; I only have historical evidence of Kekri and Hela/Vakka/Vappu.

 12. Sacrifices and Sacred Places

 Usually sacrifices were given as ways for the haltijat to have a taste of what the people have to offer, or to please by giving the best. Animals were usually offered to the forest haltija, while silver to the water haltija. To Ukko people gave only the best, such as sheep, oxes, or goats.

Sacred places were high mountains, clear springs, raging rivers, certain trees or rocks, entire areas. The name “Pyhä” in front of a place name tells of a sacred location. E.g. Pyhäjärvi.

To the haltijat of the house, offerings were usually placed in corners or in places where they could take them without being seen. Most households also had a specific tree (usually a spruce) where they took their offerings.

13. Seers

Often the master of the house was also the priest of the house. He took care of any dealings with the haltija as he was a haltija of the household in a manner, too. But for bigger workings a seer was called. Although priests, they were also doctors and diviners.

 Like the Samí in the North, it is thought very possible that the seers used drums in their workings. However, when Christianity came the seers changed their tools into less suspicious ones.

The seers also used songspells while dancing and thus entering a trance state. They could, for example, sing about the creation of a disease and then ask why it is bothering this person. By knowing the creation of things, it was believed the seers could control it to some degree.

When the seer fainted or otherwise entered an altered state of mind, it was believed he had entered to world of haltija, where he could access divine knowledge that had been beyond his limits before.

Hukkatar’s note: So the word ‘to be in trance’ would be ‘olla haltijoissaan’

While his body lay as if dead, it was said his spirit moved as a bird, or a fish, or whatever shape necessary for him to take. Sometimes he had to go to the Upperworld, where Ukko and his folks lived, or visit Tapiola, or Ahtola, or even Manala. The journeys to Tuonela were the most dangerous ones.

Because seers usually knew better prayers and poems to the haltija, they were usually also the ones to ask, beg, threaten, pray or otherwise alter whatever was going on. Since everything has a haltija, it was possible to affect them.

Seers were both women and men, but more commonly men. Usually the songspells and the skills were passed on from father to son, mother to daughter. The songs were public property and were sung by everyone, just with varying degrees of knowledge and skills. Sometimes they took pupils in which case it was important for the pupil to get a new name.

Skillful seers were of course held in high respect. Wisdom and the skill of spells was considered more valuable than courage. Some powerful seers have become haltija, for example Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen ascended to godhood after the events in Kalevala.

Let me know if there’s anything you wish to ask!

[entrepreneurnut]

LeadPages vs ClickFunnels: The Landing Page & Funnel Builder Show Down!

New Post has been published on https://entrepreneurnut.com/leadpages-vs-clickfunnels/

LeadPages vs ClickFunnels: The Landing Page & Funnel Builder Show Down!

Welcome to my LeadPages vs ClickFunnels review.

In this review, we’re going to take a look at whether you really need ClickFunnels.

Because let’s be real – There is quite a hefty starting price difference between ClickFunnels and LeadPages. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you need the more expensive option in ClickFunnels.

Keep reading to find the right software that will help your business generate more leads and sales.

(Insert table of contents and use “table of contents” as kw at top)

ClickFunnels vs LeadPages: Overview

The main differences between ClickFunnels vs LeadPages are:

ClickFunnels is an all-in-one sales funnel builder, while LeadPages is a dedicated Landing page builder

ClickFunnels has more funnel templates for your sales funnel steps outside of the landing pages

ClickFunnels offers a membership site builder, whereas LeadPages doesn’t

ClickFunnels lets you manage affiliates, whereas LeadPages doesn’t

ClickFunnels enables you to host live webinars, but LeadPages doesn’t.

ClickFunnels has some email marketing tools built-in

LeadPages is more affordable on the lower plans

LeadPages pre-built templates look slightly more professional

LeadPages has a bigger list of integrations

Get ClickFunnels Free Trial

Get LeadPages Free Trail

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GrooveFunnels and LeadPages

What Is LeadPages & Who Is It For

LeadPages is a simple and efficient landing page builder that has been around since 2012.

While other tools on the market have always tried to offer as much as possible, LeadPages has always mainly stuck to the one thing that they do well: Landing pages.

LeadPages is known for:

Being easy-to-use

Being beginner-friendly

Having beautiful & professional templates

Who Is LeadPages For?

LeadPages primarily targets:

Small business owners

Entrepreneurs

Marketers

All of these groups can use LeadPages to create landing pages and collect leads to grow their business.

What Is ClickFunnels & Who Is It For?

ClickFunnels is a little more popular than LeadPages, but it has only been around since 2014.

Russell Brunson, the platform’s founder, created ClickFunnels because he found it very costly and hard to glue together a sales funnel when he used to market his other businesses… So he solved that problem by creating ClickFunnels.

ClickFunnels is mainly known for putting all the tools you need to build high-converting sales funnels.

This sales funnel software is also user-friendly, and you can create sales funnels in under 30 minutes – even as a beginner.

But we’ll discuss that in more detail later.

Who Is ClickFunnels For?

ClickFunnels targets a very similar audience compared to LeadPages:

Entrepreneurs

Small business Owners

Marketers

Info-product vendors

ClickFunnels is a little more popular with info-product vendors based on what I have seen in the communities online.

It’s also more suited to this particular audience because it has the drag and drop membership site builder, but we’ll discuss that in more detail later.

Get ClickFunnels Free Trial

LeadPages Pros

Prices start at a lower price than competitors like ClickFunnels

The landing page software comes with beautiful templates for landing pages and full-navigation websites

User-friendly

It comes with full A/B testing functionality

Offers a free 14 day trial

LeadPages Cons

It doesn’t have many features

With the integrations, it’s much more expensive than purchasing an all-in-one software like ClickFunnels

The pricing is quite expensive when you look at the features you’re getting

You won’t be able to build sales funnels to the same level as you can with ClickFunnels. Instead, you would have to glue one together using 3rd party integrations

ClickFunnels Pros

Outstanding all-in-one sales funnel building system

It comes with full A/B testing functionality

The sales funnel and landing page builder is straightforward to use

It’s more affordable than purchasing the tools individually

There is a lot of high-quality educational material that comes with it

You can recruit affiliates directly, removing the need for an integration

It integrates with a huge list of popular SaaS tools

ClickFunnels Cons

Pricing may be slightly high for beginners

The funnel templates may not be everyone’s cup of tea

Some of the features have slightly less power compared to dedicated tools

Get ClickFunnels Free Trial

LeadPages Landing Page Features

Let’s dive straight into LeadPages landing page features and look at how you can use them for your business.

Landing Page Builder

LeadPages core offering is the landing page software. It’s the main and biggest feature that LeadPages comes with, and it’s know for its effectiveness to capture leads.

The drag and drop editor is very user-friendly and comes with modern and clean templates, which we’ll discuss later.

It also comes with:

SSL Certificate

Opt-in forms

Custom forms to embed anywhere

A Built-in lead magnet delivery.

I counted around 50 elements in total, ranging from headlines to buttons and timers.

What I like about LeadPages’ editor is that you can add SEO heading information to all of your text (i.e., H1, H2, etc.)

But inside the editor, nothing really wowed me in the element section – and it was most of the standard stuff you get anywhere else.

However, LeadPages does have some features that will make building the landing pages a little more effective and high-converting. We’ll look at these separately, though.

All pages built with LeadPages are also mobile-responsive and can be integrated with a WordPress site.

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Landing Page & Full-Navigation Website Templates

The templates are one area where LeadPages did impress me.

Not only does it have templates for landing pages, but they have also started adding more for full navigation websites.

(INsert image for landing pages)

I wouldn’t really use LeadPages for a website that I plan to generate organic traffic with – as it’s not got the open-source benefit of a CMS like WordPress.

However, if you just plan on quickly creating landing pages or websites that you want to promote with ads or social media – LeadPages could be the right choice.

They also look very clean and are easy to edit, which is definitely a plus point.

Cart & Payment System

On the PRO plan and up, LeadPages lets you create carts and collect payments.

LeadPages also includes some outstanding features like:

Order bumps

One-click upsells

One-click downsells

This is decent, as it will help you make more money from the same traffic.

A/B Split-Testing

LeadPages comes with full A/B split-testing functionality to help you find the best-converting landing page.

You can set up a test based on opt-ins or sales, drive traffic to the landing pages, and LeadPages will choose the winner for you.

This feature is available on all your LeadPages landing pages, assuming you are on the right plan.

Pop-Ups & Alert Bars

The next two features will help you generate more leads; pop-ups & alert bars.

This is basically giving you more options to share your opt-in forms. But you can also use the alert bars for announcements.

The pop-up builder is drag and drop, so it’s straightforward to create a form to capture leads.

From here, you can then link it to one of the LeadPages integrations to follow up with them.

Interestingly, on their website, they mentioned that they have exit-intent pops, and ClickFunnels doesn’t.

However, this is NOT true… ClickFunnels also has them.

What LeadPages Has That ClickFunnels Doesn’t

As landing pages are a part of your sales funnel, I really couldn’t find too much that LeadPages has, which ClickFunnels doesn’t.

But I still managed to list a couple of points – let’s take a look.

Slightly More Modern Templates For Landing Pages

This first one is entirely subjective.

The colors, fonts, and styles of LeadPages look slightly more modern than those inside ClickFunnels.

HOWEVER: This does not mean that they convert higher… In fact, most basic/almost ugly landing pages and funnels convert very high.

And there have been endless ClickFunnels success stories, which also counters this point.

Lower Cost Plans

We’ll talk about pricing in much more detail later on.

LeadPages does start at more affordable prices because, compared to ClickFunnels, it has fewer features. However, this isn’t necessarily an advantage because the integrations will cost more than ClickFunnels if you need them.

Slightly Faster Loading Pages

ClickFunnels’ pages are quite slow compared to some competitors like Leadpages. However, it’s not a huge difference, and you can always test them out with the free 14 day trial first.

But it’s something I noticed when comparing the ClickFunnels vs LeadPages’ landing page software.

More Full-Navigation & Landing Page Templates

LeadPages has a lot of templates for full-navigation websites and landing pages.

Landing pages are what it specializes in, and ClickFunnels isn’t really built for full-navigation websites.

So this was to be expected too.

Don’t get me wrong though, pretty much anything you can build with LeadPages can also be done with ClickFunnels’ drag and drop page builder.

Both LeadPages and ClickFunnels have a great selection of:

Long & short-form landing page templates

Squeeze page templates

Thank you page templates

And both easily let you edit them with the drag and drop builder.

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ClickFunnels Features

Now that we have looked at LeadPages’ features let’s look at how ClickFunnels compares.

ClickFunnels Core Offering: Funnel Builder

What ClickFunnels is known for is its easy to use drag and drop funnel and landing page builder.

While this may sound similar to LeadPages, ClickFunnels focuses more on helping you build the entire sales funnel journey you bring your customer through.

This means you will get much more templates for the individual funnel steps:

Webinar registration

Up-sell pages

Down-sell pages

Thank you pages

Checkout pages

etc

And will also get more templates for the entire sales funnels:

Tripwire funnels

Product launch funnels

Webinar funnels

Etc.

You can also build a ClickFunnels landing page with this feature, as it has very similar features to LeadPages with a few extra guns on top.

For example, it also has useful features like A/B split testing, and conversion-focused tools ribbons and pop-ups.

Get ClickFunnels Free Trial

ClickFunnels Shopping Cart

ClickFunnels also has an outstanding shopping cart feature.

Just like LeadPages, it comes with one-click upsells & downsells, and order bumps. However, one feature where it wins is the 2-step cart.

Using it, you can collect emails before the purchase so that the customer has to enter their info to reveal the deal.

If they leave after this, you still have their email and can follow up with them.

Besides this ClickFunnels shopping cart also comes with:

Coupons

Discounts

Recurring billing

ClickFunnels Membership Site Builder

If you’re looking to host courses for your audience, ClickFunnels might be the better option.

It has a complete membership site builder built inside, and it uses the same drag and drop builder as you would for the funnels.

Meaning it won’t have a big learning curve, despite being an entirely new feature.

It also comes with:

Drip-feed content

Multiple access levels

Locked posts

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ClickFunnels Follow Up Funnels & Broadcast Emails

Another feature that ClickFunnels has built-in is the follow-up emails & broadcast emails.

This means you will be able to send emails using ClickFunnels, whereas, with LeadPages, you’ll need an integration.

And ClickFunnels’ email marketing tool isn’t too far off a dedicated platform.

It comes with:

Automation sequences

Split testing

Segregation

Behavior-based triggers

Beautiful email templates

The lead magnet delivery system

It’s worth noting, though, that the lead magnet delivery system is only really worth using for tiny files. Otherwise, it may take ages to download from my experience.

However, there are many free solutions out there, like creating download links.

Live Webinars

ClickFunnels also has a tool built-in that lets you host live webinars. Keep in mind for pre-recorded webinars; you will need an integration.

But it’s still very nice to have this built-in if you ever want to host an event or something similar.

Affiliate Management

Affiliate marketing is something that almost every modern business will consider at some point.

ClickFunnels lets you recruit affiliates using its built-in tool, and you can manage affiliate programs for all of your products and marketing funnels.

The ClickFunnels affiliate tool gives you a little more than the basics:

Create and manage several affiliate programs

Per sale or recurring affiliate programs

A basic reporting

I might be picky here – but I would love to see a slightly better affiliate dashboard.

For both the vendor and the affiliate, the reporting is quite basic, and it doesn’t really give you a lot of detail on the traffic.

Plus, it would also be better if there would be a marketplace for affiliates & businesses to find each other.

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What ClickFunnels Has That LeadPages Doesn’t

In this ClickFunnels vs LeadPages comparison, we did see that the features department was pretty one-sided.

Let’s recap what ClickFunnels has that LeadPages doesn’t.

ClickFunnels Funnel-Specific Features

ClickFunnels specializes in funnels, so it obviously is an area that it will win.

And here’s why:

It has more sales funnel step templates

It has more templates for the entire sales funnel

It has a lot more educational material than LeadPages

With LeadPages, you’ll struggle to get these features, even with integrations.

There just isn’t something that offers the same as ClickFunnels. And if there would be, it wouldn’t make sense to use it as integration with LeadPages.

ClickFunnels Webinar Funnels

The live webinar builder is pretty nice to have, but LeadPages doesn’t have it.

You can get an integration for this, and it shouldn’t be too hard to mimic what ClickFunnels does. Just keep the additional cost in mind.

ClickFunnels Membership Sites

Again, this is another big difference between ClickFunnels vs LeadPages.

With LeadPages, you will have to integrate with a paid tool like Kajabi or Thinkific, which will cost you $50-$300+ per month.

Follow-Up Funnels & Broadcast Emails

Leadpages integrates with most top email service providers, but this is an additional cost too – around $50+ per month, depending on contacts.

With ClickFunnels, you can follow up with the users using the built-in feature after converting on your landing page.

So when it comes to marketing automation, it’s definitely a win for ClickFunnels.

Affiliate Management

Yeah, I did mention some improvements that ClickFunnels could do with their affiliate management tool.

However, it’s nice that it even has it… Because LeadPages and other competitors don’t.

This means you’ll have to set it up using an integration – and from my experience, an integration for affiliate software is one of the more technical/confusing ones.

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Integrations

As we saw earlier in this ClickFunnels vs LeadPages comparison, you will likely need more integrations with LeadPages.

So I have listed them below so you can take a look.

LeadPages Integrations

Because LeadPages comes with a lot fewer features, it has a slightly bigger list of integrations. Below, I’ve listed the different categories of integrations + some of the top tools.

Ecommerce Integration (Shopify, SendOwl)

CMS Integration (Wix, Weebly, WordPress, Squarespace & more)

Social media Integration (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter & More)

Analytics Integration (Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, JS analytics)

CRM Integration (amoCRM, Contactually, InfusionSoft (Keap), PipeDrive, Zoho, Salesforce)

Advertising platforms (Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Google Ads, etc)

Email Marketing Integration (Pretty much all major email tools)

Live Chat Integration (LiveChat, ManyChat, Drift, etc.)

Marketing Automation Integration (Autopilot, Hubspot & more)

Payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, etc.)

Scheduling Integration(Calendly, Acuity & more)

Webinar Integration (Go-to webinar, WebinarJam & more)

ClickFunnels Integrations

Here are ClickFunnels integrations:

Stripe

PayPal

JV Zoo

ClickBank

NMI (Gateway Funnel Pros)

GetResponse

Drip

Infusionsoft

Warrior Plus

OntraPort

Recurly

Ontraport

Salesforce

Market Hero

Apple Pay

Infusionsoft

EasyPayDirect

Bluesnap

AWeber

Constant Contact

ConvertKit

Hubspot

ActiveCampaign

SendLane

MadMimi

MailChimp

EverWebinar Integration

WebinarJam Integration

Zapier

Zoho

Gsuite

Sendgrid

Mailgun

Mandrill

SparkPost

Zoom Webinar Integration

GoToWebinar Integration

Google Analytics

As you can see, both ClickFunnels and LeadPages have a pretty large list of integrations.

LeadPages vs ClickFunnels: Pricing

Now let’s look at the LeadPages vs ClickFunnels pricing

I love both of these tools because you get pretty much Unlimited traffic on all plans. I have heard that there is some limit on them around the 400k visitor p/m mark, but that won’t apply to most of us.

ClickFunnels Cost

ClickFunnels offers 3 main pricing plans:

ClickFunnels Starter $97 per month

ClickFunnels Platinum: $297 per month

ClickFunnels Two Comma Club X $1497 per month

If you want to use ClickFunnels, make sure to check out the list below, where I have listed all the pricing.

ClickFunnels Starter ($97  per month)

On the starter plan, you do not get access to the priority customer support team. So expect slightly slower response times.

Usage limits:

20 sales funnels

100 pages

1 sub-user

3 payment gateways

3 domains

Not included in this plan:

Affiliate management

Follow-up Funnels

Funnel Hack-A-Thon

Some FunnelFlix Videos

Priority Customer Support

ClickFunnels Platinum ($297 per month)

All features with the following usage limits:

Unlimited funnels and pages

3 sub-users

9 payment gateways

9 domains

ClickFunnels Two Comma Club X ($1,497)

Unlimited funnels and pages

10 sub-users

27 payment gateways

27 domains

Features: All + Hours of additional FunnelFlix training

ClickFunnels also has a NO-QUESTIONS-ASKED 30-day money-back guarantee, so if it isn’t the right option for you, it’s easy to get your money back.

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LeadPages Cost

LeadPages pricing starts at a more affordable rate, but as you go up, the pricing is pretty similar to ClickFunnels.

Standard $37/month

Pro $79/month

Advanced$321/month

I’ve listed what you get in each plan below.

LeadPages Standard ($37 Per Month)

1 Website/Domain

Landing Pages, Pop-Ups, Alert Bars

Mobile-Responsive Site Templates

Lead Notifications

Tech Support(via Email)

40+ Standard Integrations

Unlimited Traffic & Leads

Free Custom Domain

Free Hosting

LeadPages Pro ($79 Per Month)

3 Websites/Domains

Landing Pages, Pop-Ups, Alert Bars

Unlimited Traffic & Leads

Free Custom Domain*

Free Hosting

Mobile-Responsive Site Templates

Lead Notifications

Tech Support

(via Chat + Email)

40+ Standard Integrations

Online Sales & Payments

Unlimited A/B Split Testing

LeadPages Advanced ($321 Per Month)

50 domains

Free Hosting

Mobile-Responsive Site Templates

Lead Notifications

Priority Tech Support

(via Phone)

40+ Standard Integrations

Online Sales & Payments

Unlimited A/B Split Testing

Landing Pages, Pop-Ups, Alert Bars

Unlimited Traffic & Leads

Free Custom Domain*

Advanced Integrations

Includes 5 Pro Sub Accounts

1-on-1 Quick Start Call

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LeadPages vs ClickFunnels: Final Thoughts

As you have seen throughout this LeadPages vs ClickFunnels comparison, these two marketing software tools a little different.

ClickFunnels comes with WAY more features, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for you.

I would argue that it has better value for money, though. But if you are just after a simple landing page builder, then LeadPages could be a great choice too.

If you would like to sign up for a ClickFunnels account, make sure to hit the button below for the 14-day free trial.

ClickFunnels also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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