With so many web technologies, platforms and programming languages, web designers and developers are still searching for new opportunities to engage visitors and turn them into regular clients.

There are all sorts of options for engaging users, but one of the most popular is parallax scrolling. Parallax scrolling uses a script to move elements on a webpage at different rates, creating the impression of depth.

If you like forced perspective photography you will probably like Parallax scrolling websites too. The effect can produce very heavy sites, but used properly it does create a spectacular and engaging visual effect.

The weight of parallax sites

The first obstacle when considering a parallax website is their large file size and the resulting increase in page load time. This is because you’re typically loading far more on a single page than you normally would.

The more you load, the heavier the page. For this reason parallax sites are best suited to situations when the user is willing to wait a little longer for information.

Parallax and SEO

If you stay informed about industry news you probably know that search engines (especially Google) regularly toughen their requirements for on-page optimization. The process of searching for information becomes more user-friendly but it doesn’t always coincide with site owners’ plans and abilities.

Currently, if you prefer one-page Parallax scrolling website you’ll have to optimize it for only one keyword. At the same time regular websites can optimize each page for a separate keyword/phrase. Consequently thoughtful separation of the home page can be quite effective, but you need to ensure that the content you’re designing for is promotable under a very narrow range of keywords.

Mobile parallax

You can’t escape the mobile web any longer, and that’s as true for parallax sites as any other. If you choose to use a parallax effect, you need to ensure that you’re translating the effect to mobiles properly.

Fortunately there are plenty of different libraries and scripts that help display pages with Parallax scrolling on mobile devices in a native way, some of my favourites are iScroll 4, Zynga Scroller, Stellar.js, and Scrollability.

Parallax scrolling and UX

Parallax sites are extremely engaging and do a great job of reducing a site’s bounce rate — but that only happens if you keep the the size down and ensure that the effect works correctly on mobiles.

Parallax sites allow us to tell stories, and those stories are a great way to engage visitors. Below we’ve gathered together some of the best examples of parallax sites, all of which have avoided the pitfalls above to successfully deploy their projects.

Michelle Lana

Every Last Drop

FK Agency

Wild Life

KitKat

Von Dutch

CR-V Honda

Sonia Rykiel

Atlantis World’s Fair

Activate Drinks

Soundscape

Tokio Lab

Head To Heart

Cosmo

Geze Bewegt

Cultural Solutions

The White House Iraq timeline

Atipics

Bolia

Bagigia

Health Service Payouts

Netlash bSeen

Spotify

Madwell

Mario Cart Wii

Zeus

Soleir Noir 2012

Drug Treatment

NH Hotels

Divine Write

Spaziergang

Vita Frute Cocktails

Gjenfodt

Have you created a parallax site? Which of these sites is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

Reliable Website Content Delivery with MaxCDN – 50% off!

The Christmas and holiday season is upon us this year.

Buying gifts for someone can be a tricky task, especially for creatives who are ever-so-fussy with their stuff and are thus hard to buy for.

In this post are my ten gift suggestions for creative professionals, e.g. Designers, illustrators, artists, web developers, photographers, online marketers, bloggers or simply someone who appreciates well-designed products.

The Nifty MiniDrive

The Nifty MiniDrive allows you to add extra storage to your Apple MacBook via the SD card slot. It’s non-intrusive, secure, doesn’t stick out of the side of the computer like USB drives do, and has 64GB storage capacity.

This makes a wonderful gift for anyone who owns a MacBook, especially one of the new models with solid-state drives that generally lack file storage space for digital creatives.

The Nifty MiniDrive is available for about $49 (list price on the site is €35).

COBURNS iPad Stand

The creators of the Coburns iPad stand focused on designing a minimalist iPad stand with a clean look. Built with organic materials that complement the refined feel of the iPad, these stands would make a wonderful gift for anyone who owns an iPad. It costs $25.

Dotgrid.co Notebooks

Dotgrid.co is a family-run business based in London, UK. We make dot grid books for designers and illustrators. The subtle dot grid is perfect for sketching, wireframing and jotting down ideas. Prices start at around $10 (£6).

Full disclosure: I’m a co-founder at Dotgrid.co.

Craft Coffee

If your gift receiver is a fan of great-quality craft coffee — many creative professionals are obsessed with coffee or tea — a coffee subscription that delivers coffee regularly to their home or office would make them incredibly happy.

Craft Coffee is based in the US but there are similar brands all over the world such as Pact Coffee in the UK and Misto Box in Australia.

Joli Originals

Joli Originals produces handmade Italian leather sleeves for iPhone, iPad and MacBooks.

Joli Originals is run by couple Jolien and Harold out of their design studio in Amsterdam. They’re passionate about designing and producing elegant, classy sleeves for most Apple products. Prices start at about $40 (list price on the site is €29).

Inkbug

Inkbug allows you to turn your Instagram photos into beautiful little prints and stickers. Users can connect their Instagram accounts to Inkbug, choose how they would like to print their Instagram photos, and then select the photos they want to get printed.

Prices start at about $30 (list price on the site is £18) for 45 prints with free worldwide delivery on all orders.

Full disclosure: I’m a co-founder at Inkbug.

Beardbrand

Beardbrand was founded by Eric Bandholz after he realized there was no real organization to represent beards. Based in the US, Beardbrand sells products such as beard oils and grooming kits. Anything from here would make a wonderful gift for your bearded friends.

Port–au–Prince Papier–mâché

Founded by a husband and wife, Port–au–Prince Paper Makers is dedicated to creating jobs for the people of Haiti. They hand-craft papier–mâché wall ornaments that will add interest to any office or workspace.

Custom SLR C-Loop Strap Mount

If your gift receiver owns a camera, whether as a hobbyist or a professional, the C-Loop camera strap mount by Custom SLR is a brilliant upgrade.

It allows the photographer to mount their strap to the bottom of the camera instead of the top, eliminating the issue where the strap gets in the way of shots when rotating your camera from portrait to landscape. Available for $40.

Saddleback Leather Co. Desk Pad Set

The Saddleback desk pad set is made out of real leather and is a great way to add a bit of style and class to a workspace. The set includes a mouse pad, a monitor pad and a large desk pad. Not only does it look great, it adds comfort to a desk too. Available for $309.

Happy Holidays This 2013!

I hope this list of gift ideas helped you out.

On behalf of Six Revisions and my co-authors here on the site, I would like to say that we hope you have a festive holiday season and a Merry Christmas!

Related Content

• 25 Awesome Gift Ideas for Designers & Developers (2009)
• 30 Beautiful Custom PC Case Designs
• The Creative Process of Professional Designers
• Related categories: Resources and Tools

About the Author

Callum Chapman is a mobile and web user interface designer. He has worked with many internationally known brands as well his own projects such as Dotgrid.co. You can follow Callum on Twitter at @callumchapman.

The post 10 Gift Ideas for Creative Professionals appeared first on Six Revisions.

We’re delighted to be able to bring you this sensational set of icons designed exclusively for WebdesignerDepot by Webalys.

The unique, icons focus on environmental issues, from solar power to wind turbines, recycled clothes to cycling.

Delivered as EPS files, you can edit the icons in vector editing applications, like Adobe Illustrator, to scale the icon and tweak the stroke width — fantastic for using the icons over-sized, when an extra thick stroke would be too much.

Free for personal and commercial use, these environmentally conscious icons are great for websites, magazines, illustrations, even books. Each icon is packed with character, and we’re particularly fond of the beaming sun, the dripping faucet and the happy whale.

The hand-drawn quality adds to their charm and the single outline style, popularized by iOS7, means they’ll work well in a variety of different design scenarios.

Love these? Then you might want to check out Webalys’ Streamline icons, featuring over 1600 icons with pack versions available for developers.

Download the files after the preview:

Have you used these icons in a project? Which icon do you like best? Let us know in the comments.

BACK FOR 1 DAY ONLY – Exclusive: 10 Graphic Deals – only $47!

PROMISE AGEP: Maryland Transformation is pleased to invite you to attend and participate in the 2014 University System of Maryland PROMISE AGEP Research Symposium and Professional Development Conference. This new conference revises the former PROMISE Research Symposium, and adds a professional development component that will prepare graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for faculty positions in STEM. This conference seeks to provide a venue that will allow students to present their work at any stage, receive feedback in preparation for presenting at larger venues, and provide training that will prepare participants for faculty careers.

This page will serve as the official webpage for the event. Please stay tuned for updates.

________________________________________________

• Date: Friday, February 28, 2014
• Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
• Location: Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building
  • University of Maryland College Park
  • Room: The Rotunda
  • Directions and Parking: http://www.eng.umd.edu/visitus/directions
• Registration: Free (includes meals)
• Attire: Business Casual

________________________________________________

This conference will feature STEM-based oral presentations, posters, and professional development seminars. Participants are invited to submit abstracts to participate in three oral categories, and one poster category.

Oral Category 1: Traditional Research Presentations

[7 minutes presentation, 3 minutes critique, 2 minutes of questions, traditional PowerPoint presentation]

Oral Category 2: TED-Styled Talks

[5 minute talks + 5 minutes for critique/questions, PowerPoint presentation with images only - no text]

Oral Category 3: Lightening Round Talks

[2 minute talks with timer on the screen, no PowerPoints, no critique.]

________________________________________________

AGENDA

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM – Arrive, Breakfast Refreshments, Registration, Poster Set-Up

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Opening Remarks and Traditional Research Presentations

Opening Remarks: Renetta G. Tull, Ph.D., Director, PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP (University System of Maryland) and Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Student Development & Postdoctoral Affairs (UMBC)

Welcome: Ana Maria Pérez, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate for Diversity Initiatives, Office of Diversity Initiatives, The Graduate School, University of Maryland College Park

Oral Research Presentations

• Ashley J. Belle, UMCP
• Juan Valdez-Lopez, UMBC
• Kayla Lemons, UMBC
• William Easley, UMBC
• Viviana Monje-Galvan, UMCP

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM Networking Break

Exchange business cards, learn something new from the posters that will be displayed around the Rotunda, and develop new colleagues. 

10:45 AM – 11:15 AM Lightening Round Talks

• Alexander D. Smith, UMBC
• Adegboyega Akinsiku, UMBC
• Cherre Jefferson, UMBC
• Alex E. Holness, UMCP
• Eric Corbett, UMBC

11:15 AM – 12:00 Noon – Kickoff Ceremony for PROMISE AGEP: Maryland Transformation

Moderator and Host: Dr. Charles Caramello, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School, University of Maryland College Park

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Brit Kirwan, Chancellor, University System of Maryland

Dr. Kirwan’s Biography: http://www.usmd.edu/usm/chancellor/bio.html

12:00 PM - Poster Session & Buffet Lunch  

Special Lunch Table Guests:

Dr. Alycia Marshall, Chair, Department of Mathematics, Anne Arundel Community College (AACC), PROMISE Alumna (UMCP), Co-PI of NSF’s $598,000 Engineering Scholar’s Program. Dr. Marshall serves as a PROMISE Alumni “Mentor-in-Residence” at each PROMISE Summer Success Institute. Under her leadership, other PROMISE alumni and students have had jobs or career-enhancing opportunities at AACC.

Dr. Elena Hernández-Ramón, Scientific Project Manager at Office of Intramural Training and Education at NIH, Researcher in Cancer/Carcinogen-DNA Interactions, President of the NIH chapter of SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicano and Native American Scientists), and member of the Hispanic Organization of Toxicologists.

Dr. Marshall and Dr. Hernández-Ramón will be seated at round tables during lunch. Participants may network during lunch by joining them at their tables and sharing a meal and discussion. Please bring your CVs and be prepared to talk with them about career opportunities in their organizations.

Poster Presenters

• Arundhathi Venkatasubramaniam, UMBC
• Saadi Habib, UMBC
• Bre-Onna DeLaine, UMB
• Kankindi Rwego, UMCP
• Afua Dennis, UMCP
• Kyana Beckles, UMBC
• Isaac Mativo, UMBC
• Rebekah Brown, UMB
• Sheniqua Brown, UMBC

1:00 PM Meeting of University System of Maryland Graduate Deans and STEM Deans  [Pepco Boardroom]

1:15 PM – “TED-Styled” Talks [Rotunda]

Moderator: Serenella Linares, Plant Sciences, UMCP

• Kailyn Cage, UMCP
• DeLauren McCauley, UMBC
• Christine H. Wang, UMCP

2:00 PM  - Professional Development Workshops

a) Planning in Advance for Tenure: Dr. Raheem Beyah (Associate Professor, Georgia Tech), Dr. William Robinson (Associate Professor, Vanderbilt University). [Kay Room]

Both Dr. Beyah and Dr. Robinson were AGEP students when they were in graduate school, and have been members of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Both now have tenure and are dedicating time and effort to training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to plan and prepare themselves now, so that they can be ready for future success as a tenured professor.

Dr. Beyah and Dr. Robinson lead the Academic Research Leadership Symposium, in conjunction with the National Society of Black Engineers. https://www.arlnetwork.org/symposia/

About Dr. Beyah: http://users.ece.gatech.edu/~rbeyah/

About Dr. Robinson: http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~robinswh/

[While lunch is only available for pre-registered participants, this workshop is open to the public. You may register on-site for this 2 hour workshop.]

b) “Radio Research” – Public Speaking: Scott Morgan, President of The Morgan Group

Moderator: Dr. Maria Nandadevi Cortes Rodriguez, Biological Sciences, UMBC

Scott Morgan, President of The Morgan Group of Washington, DC, provides media training and public speaking tips to a variety of organizations, companies, and universities. Morgan is a Senior Associate of the Abshire Inamori Leadership Academy, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in DC.

More about Scott Morgan:

The Morgan Group 

[While lunch is only available for pre-registered participants, this workshop is open to the public. You may register on-site for this 2 hour workshop.]

4:00 PM – Closing Reception & Awards Ceremony

________________________________________________

If you are interested in presenting, please follow the schedule below:

December 20, 2013: “Letter of Intent” to present (Email promisestaff@gmail.com with name, school, department, choice of oral category (1, 2, 3) or poster, and potential title of your presentation.)

“TED-Styled” and “Lightening Round” titles must be tailored to appeal to a general audience.

January 17, 2013, *New, of Dec. 23, 2013: Deadline for “Intent to Present” emails for Lightening Round and Poster Presentationsonly.  Everyone who expressed an “Intent to Present” as of Dec. 23, 2013, will be in line for the presentation style of their choice. Those who did not specify a category will be given a space for a poster. All of the slots in the “Traditional Presentation” Category #1, and the “TED-Styled Talk” Category #2, are taken, and we will not accept any more requests for those categories. We have some slots remaining in the “Lightening Round” Category #3, and we have slots remaining for posters.

January 31, 2014:Abstracts and the information below are required for all presentations types. (Email all materials to promisestaff@gmail.com, with the subject: “2014 PROMISE Research Symposium Presenter Information.”)

1. Formal Abstract (250 words or less).Biographical Sketch (250 words or less)
   • Font: 12 Point, Times New Roman
   • Heading, Left-justified:
     • Title (Bold)
     • Name (Italicized)
     • Department (No abbreviations)
     • University (No abbreviations)
2. General Summary of Graduate Research (250 words or less)
3. High Quality Photograph
4. Numbered List of up to 5 publications and or/presentations. Please give precedence to publications and conference proceedings as applicable.

________________________________________________

PROMISE AGEP: Maryland Transformation is pleased to invite you to attend and participate in the 2014 University System of Maryland PROMISE AGEP Research Symposium and Professional Development Conference. This new conference revises the former PROMISE Research Symposium, and adds a professional development component that will prepare graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for faculty positions in STEM. This conference seeks to provide a venue that will allow students to present their work at any stage, receive feedback in preparation for presenting at larger venues, and provide training that will prepare participants for faculty careers.

This page will serve as the official webpage for the event. Please stay tuned for updates.

________________________________________________

• Date: Friday, February 28, 2014
• Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
• Location: Kim Engineering Building
  • University of Maryland College Park
  • Room: The Rotunda
  • Directions and Parking: http://www.eng.umd.edu/visitus/directions
• Registration: Free (includes meals)
• Attire: Business Casual

________________________________________________

This conference will feature STEM-based oral presentations, posters, and professional development seminars. Participants are invited to submit abstracts to participate in three oral categories, and one poster category.

Oral Category 1: Traditional Research Presentations

[7 minutes presentation, 3 minutes critique, 2 minutes of questions, traditional PowerPoint presentation]

Oral Category 2: TED-Styled Talks

[5 minute talks + 5 minutes for critique/questions, PowerPoint presentation with images only - no text]

Oral Category 3: Lightening Round Talks

[2 minute talks with timer on the screen, no PowerPoints, no critique.]

________________________________________________

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM – Arrive, Breakfast Refreshments, Registration, Poster Set-Up

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Opening Remarks and Traditional Research Presentations

Opening Remarks: Renetta G. Tull, Ph.D., Director, PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP (University System of Maryland) and Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Student Development & Postdoctoral Affairs (UMBC)

Welcome: Ana Maria Pérez, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate for Diversity Initiatives, Office of Diversity Initiatives, The Graduate School, University of Maryland College Park

Oral Research Presentations

• Ashley J. Belle, UMCP
• Juan Valdez-Lopez, UMBC
• Kayla Lemons, UMBC
• William Easley, UMBC
• Viviana Monje-Galvan, UMCP

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM Networking Break

10:45 AM – 11:15 AM Lightening Round Talks

• Alexander D. Smith, UMBC
• David Colón-Cabrera, UMCP
• Adegboyega Akinsiku, UMBC
• Cherre Jefferson, UMBC
• Eric Corbett, UMBC

11:15 AM – 12:00 Noon – Kickoff Ceremony for PROMISE AGEP: Maryland Transformation

Moderator and Host: Dr. Charles Caramello, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School, University of Maryland College Park

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Brit Kirwan, Chancellor, University System of Maryland

Dr. Kirwan’s Biography: http://www.usmd.edu/usm/chancellor/bio.html

12:00 PM - Poster Session & Buffet Lunch  

• Arundhathi Venkatasubramaniam, UMBC
• Saadi Habib, UMBC
• Bre-Onna DeLaine, UMB
• Kankindi Rwego, UMCP
• Jim Glenn, UMCP
• Afua Dennis, UMCP
• Kyana Beckles, UMBC
• Isaac Mativo, UMBC
• Rebekah Brown, UMB
• Alexander E. Holness, UMCP
• Sheniqua Brown, UMBC

1:00 PM Meeting of University System of Maryland Graduate Deans and STEM Deans  [Pepco Boardroom]

1:15 PM – “TED-Styled” Talks 

• Kailyn Cage, UMCP
• DeLauren McCauley, UMBC
• Christine H. Wang, UMCP

2:00 PM  - Professional Development Workshops

a) Planning in Advance for Tenure: Dr. Raheem Beyah (Associate Professor, Georgia Tech), Dr. William Robinson (Associate Professor, Vanderbilt University). [Kay Room]

Both Dr. Beyah and Dr. Robinson were AGEP students when they were in graduate school. Both now have tenure and are dedicating time and effort to training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to plan and prepare themselves now, so that they can be ready for future success as a tenured professor.

Dr. Beyah and Dr. Robinson lead the Academic Research Leadership Symposium, in conjunction with the National Society of Black Engineers. https://www.arlnetwork.org/symposia/

About Dr. Beyah: http://users.ece.gatech.edu/~rbeyah/

About Dr. Robinson: http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~robinswh/

b) “Radio Research” – Public Speaking: Scott Morgan, President of The Morgan Group

Scott Morgan, President of The Morgan Group of Washington, DC, provides media training and public speaking tips to a variety of organizations, companies, and universities. Morgan is a Senior Associate of the Abshire Inamori Leadership Academy, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in DC.

More about Scott Morgan:

The Morgan Group 

4:00 PM – Closing Reception & Awards Ceremony

________________________________________________

If you are interested in presenting, please follow the schedule below:

December 20, 2013: “Letter of Intent” to present (Email promisestaff@gmail.com with name, school, department, choice of oral category (1, 2, 3) or poster, and potential title of your presentation.)

“TED-Styled” and “Lightening Round” titles must be tailored to appeal to a general audience.

January 17, 2013, *New, of Dec. 23, 2013: Deadline for “Intent to Present” emails for Lightening Round and Poster Presentationsonly.  Everyone who expressed an “Intent to Present” as of Dec. 23, 2013, will be in line for the presentation style of their choice. Those who did not specify a category will be given a space for a poster. All of the slots in the “Traditional Presentation” Category #1, and the “TED-Styled Talk” Category #2, are taken, and we will not accept any more requests for those categories. We have some slots remaining in the “Lightening Round” Category #3, and we have slots remaining for posters.

January 31, 2014:Abstracts and the information below are required for all presentations types. (Email all materials to promisestaff@gmail.com, with the subject: “2014 PROMISE Research Symposium Presenter Information.”)

1. Formal Abstract (250 words or less).Biographical Sketch (250 words or less)
   • Font: 12 Point, Times New Roman
   • Heading, Left-justified:
     • Title (Bold)
     • Name (Italicized)
     • Department (No abbreviations)
     • University (No abbreviations)
2. General Summary of Graduate Research (250 words or less)
3. High Quality Photograph
4. Numbered List of up to 5 publications and or/presentations. Please give precedence to publications and conference proceedings as applicable.

________________________________________________

A recent column in The Washington Post argues the ongoing technical problems with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act in Maryland are unlikely to have a negative impact on Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown’s chances in the race for governor.

The article states Brown has six months until the Democratic primary to correct problems with the state’s health care exchange and has secured endorsements and support from almost all of the party establishment.

Political science assistant professor Laura Hussey was interviewed for the column and said the health exchange problems will likely fade away come election time.

“This is not a scandal that breaks important social mores or ethics. This isn’t something that is going to be a hot election issue . . . that’s going to fly in sound-bite politics,” Hussey said.

You can read the full article in The Washington Post here.