The Design Block

If you're looking for the latest in advertising and marketing, design related technology and lifestyle tips, and art or design highlights then you're in the right place. Find all this and more with the Design Block blog.

A warm and cozy hue: The 2024 Pantone Colour of the Year

With anticipation rivalling New Year's Eve, Pantone has revealed Peach Fuzz as the 2024 Colour of the Year.

How to save for and survive unemployment

Amid economic uncertainty, people are actively seeking methods to save money and find additional income.

Creative facial hair from the 2023 National Beard & Moustache Championships

This year's championships saw everything from the well-groomed facial hair to outlandish and artistic creations.

10 of the most impactful ads by the WWF

The WWF utilizes powerful advertising with thought-provoking visuals to shed light on critical issues.

Pencil tips transformed into miniature masterpieces

This artist painstakingly chips away at pencil graphite to bring his miniature art to life.

The creative possibilities of smartphones from the Mobile Photography Awards

For 12 years, the Mobile Photography Awards has demonstrated the appeal of capturing moments with a phone.

5 website popup mistakes and how to avoid them

Popups are a great way to convert visitors into leads. If they're good they can take your conversion to another level.

Researchers develop an ‘e-fabric’ capable of generating power

Researchers at Nottingham Trent University have developed a new 'e-fabric' capable of generating energy.

Spectacular 3D murals appear to burst from the walls

Walking through France's winding streets, you might stumble upon these amazing 3D murals.

Design tips for perfectly crafted emails

Just because you’re not an email marketing master doesn’t mean you can't create perfectly crafted emails.

Take a peak at the Close-up Photographer of the Year winners

With over 9,000 pictures from 54 countries, the competition showcases the often overlooked or unseen world.

Hand-painted miniature animal figurines inspired by fantasy

Discover amazing miniature animal figurines made from velvet clay that look straight out of a fairytale.

Gen Z’s no longer giving the ‘thumbs-Up’ on these 10 emojis

Gen Z offered up 10 emojis that they would like to see removed and never used again.

SMS Marketing: Why Content Marketers Love It

Learn what SMS marketing is; the benefits of text message marketing; and how to increase conversions.

Small Business Tip: Expanding Your Online Presence

While all businesses rely on the internet to help promote their products/services, an online presence is a must.

Artist creates figurative sculptures using bicycle chains

What makes this work unique is that instead of carving statues from one material, it's created by fusing hundreds of bicycle chain links.

Warped wooden chair looks like it’s suspended underwater

This unique chair features ripples that make it look like the chair is suspended underwater.

How to successfully automate your lead nurturing process

Without strong lead-nurturing practices, your business could lose potential customers. Find out ways to stop that.

Awe-inspiring 2022 Sony World Photography Awards winners

These awards are an opportunity to see the skills of amateur & professional photographer from around the world.

New sustainable LEGO made from recycled plastic bottles

After 3 years of experimenting, LEGO can create 10 4x2 bricks from a 1-litre recycled plastic bottle.

7 tools to use as a blogger

Blogging is a commodity, especially for small businesses. These tools can help you better market your business.

How to use GIFs in emails to boost conversions

Considering the average attention span is 8 seconds, you'll need more than intriguing headlines, straight-to-point offers, and bright CTAs.

How NFTs are shaking up the art world

Artists are finally able to truly “own” and sell their digital art using non-fungible tokens.

Upcycling artist turns scrap into lifelike animal sculptures

Inspired by the forms of animals, this artist's upcycling art seeks to capture a sense of motion.

Lucrative business ideas for animal lovers

Turns out, there’s a lot of money to be made in the animal business: from veterinarians to pet party planners.

eCommerce and your small business

Since the pandemic hit, many businesses have had to re-evaluate how they marketed their brand.

McDonald’s highlights home delivery with half a logo

Minimalism seems to be taking brands by storm, and this campaign from McDonald's uses less than half of its logo.

German city installs sleep pods for the homeless

In the German city of Ulm, a company called Ulmer Nest is doing what it can to help homelessness.

Pantone chooses pandemic colours for 2021

For only the second time, Pantone has chosen not one, but 2 colours of the year.

Soon you can “step into” Van Gogh’s iconic masterpieces

An upcoming event at The Indianapolis Museum of Art allows visitors to immerse themselves in Van Gogh's art.

LG’s new hi-tech face mask is a personal air purifier

LG's new hi-tech face masks are essentially PuriCare Air Purifiers that can be strapped to your face.

Artist creates images and portraits with a typewriter

This artist has taken an out-dated technology and turned it into a creative outlet.

Facebook removes the 20% text limit on ad images

Facebook has discreetly removed the rule that limited text space on ad images to only 20 percent.

Photographer shines a light on Antarctica’s icy beauty

"The intriguing thing about the light in Antarctica was in the seeming absence of sunlight."

5 steps to using psychology in your advertising

To help your ads stand out in a crowded market, you first need to learn about consumer thought processes.

BK personalizes face masks to help you order

Trying to order food while wearing a face mask just got easier thanks to these customized ones by Burger King.

“Broken” furniture that looks like it belongs in a cartoon

While these unique furniture creations look straight out of a cartoon, they are still functional.

Galactic talent: Contest showcases best Milky Way photos of the year

Earth is situated in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way and sometimes we can see deep into our galaxy’s centre.

Coca-Cola & Carlsberg are making the switch to plant-based bottles

Thanks to a biochemicals company in the Netherlands, plant-based bottles could soon replace plastic ones.

Delicate animal portraits created from flowers

This artists animal portraits are inspired by the ancient and traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement— Ikebana.

Snapchat apologizes for tone-deaf Juneteenth filter

Snapchat has apologized after releasing camera filter that prompted users to “smile” to break the chains of slavery.

Quarantined travel photographer creates miniature outdoor scenes with everyday objects

Each miniature scene is planned out and shot with clever lighting so that it looks just like the real outdoors.

Instagram tackles online bullying with new features for users

As part of its efforts to tackle online bullying, Instagram announced a series of new features to help.

3D street art that interacts with its surroundings

Cosimo makes boring spaces pop out, more colourful and fun by using his 3D street art technique.

UN releases free COVID-19 awareness images donated by artists

The UN sent out an open brief for creatives. Within two weeks, tens of thousands of entries emerged.

How to design an eCommerce About Us page

Did you know that the About Us page is one of the most important pages of your eCommerce website?

Illusion cake creations will make you look twice

This pastry artist creates stunningly realistic cakes that look like other food or objects.

Artist creates mind-blowing 3D paintings with illusive depth

The dazzling portfolio of portrait artist Stefan Pabst looks so realistic it’s hard to believe our eyes.

Humorous IKEA step-by-step manual poking fun at hoarders

IKEA is reminding customers to practice social distancing by staying at home at all times.

How to turn one colour into hundreds of interesting palettes

Watch this video to see that you don’t have to be an expert in colour theory to create a myriad of colour palettes.