Best of the web for Design and Web Development February 2024

February 29th, 2024
News

As the second month of the year concludes, we’re reflecting on the top design tutorials and web articles from February. The post highlights engaging design tutorials, such as creating a matrix-style movie photo effect and a text portrait in Photoshop. The latter half of the post offers insightful articles, with topics ranging from designing for adults to crafting effective documentation. We hope you’ll appreciate this month’s roundup featuring exceptional content.

Design tutorials

Easily Make a Laurel Wreath in Illustrator

As you may already know, in Illustrator there are always differents ways to achieve the same results, and making a laurel wreath is not an exception to that rule. But there are methods that takes more time than others, and other methods that give you more or less control over the final design. So today, I will show you a simple and easy to follow procedure to make any kind of wreaths in Illustrator that you can use on your designs.

How to Make a Matrix Effect in Photoshop

In today’s tutorial, you’ll look at how to make a Matrix effect in Photoshop. We’ll take the classic Matrix effect to the next level by adding depth and light bokeh. You’ll also learn how to make a Matrix falling code effect using textures that do all of the heavy lifting.

Text Portrait Effect in Photoshop

This text portrait effect is known as a Calligram. It’s where a passage of text bends and warps around the contours of the subject’s face. This effect is particularly powerful when used to present famous speeches by depicting the orator through their words. The process uses just a small selection of Photoshop’s tools, with the Displace filter and a clipping mask being the key ingredients to making the effect.

How to Create the Dune Movie Logo

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to create the Dune movie logo from scratch instead of using a Dune logo font in Illustrator. Prefer to watch a video?

Web tutorial and articles

Extracting YouTube video data with OpenAI and LangChain

In this tutorial, you will learn how to use a technique known as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) alongside the OpenAI API and the LangChain framework to build a time-saving and cost-effective interactive command line application that allows you to retrieve information from a YouTube video without having to watch it.

Automated testing and Continuous Integration in WordPress development

If you work in WordPress development, now’s the time to embrace automated testing and continuous integration (CI). It can significantly boost efficiency, ensure code quality, and streamline deployment processes!

Creating effective technical documentation

Effective feature documentation is important in enhancing a user’s experience with the feature. Good documentation is like a piece of the puzzle that makes everything click — the key for encouraging feature adoption.

Five Tools That Will Make You More Productive on the Command Line

A list of some of the CLI tools I think will make you a better, more productive developer on the command line. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but I’ve picked five CLI tools that I regard as some of my favorite productivity boosters when working with files and code on the command line.

A Guide To Designing For Older Adults

With one billion people aged 60 or older worldwide, inclusivity is more important than ever. Learn how to create digital experiences that empower independence and competence for older adults while enhancing usability for all.

Do you ever wish the table you were looking at had numbered rows?

I had the thought gosh I wish this table’s rows were numbered when I was looking at the big table of Interop 2024 popular votes. I don’t know the that the <table> needed numbering, but when I wanted to know the “rank” of some of the items, I found myself wishing it did.