From the house ofZURB, creators of such apps asBounce,Notable,ReelandStrike, comes another Web app calledSpur. It’s a free app that aims to help Web designers return to basics and ensure that they adhere to the purest of design principles.
The folk at ZURB, above all else, seem to be interested in making tools that they themselves have a need for. Therefore, they tend to be targeted for a niche audience, but usually demonstrate a very keen understanding of what that audience requires from the product.
In this case, Spur gives website owners and designers seven tools to help measure the design of their website. These are all classic design methodologies — such as viewing your layout in grayscale to see if the design still works — and they have been transformed into simple benchmarks for you to use.
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When you load a website in Spur, seven large buttons across the top let you access the various tools, while theOriginalbutton to the far right reverts the webpage to its original state. Here’s a summary of the various tools available:
If there is one thing I can point to and say that needs work, it’s that the app loads websites a little too slow and does not always preserve the original layout. In the screenshot above, you can see that it had difficulty with the layout of images next to the articles on The Next Web’s homepage. Hopefully, these are just teething troubles and will be sorted out as the app matures.
The classic design principles mentioned above apply universally to every good, clean design and Spur helps you ensure that you are adhering to them. And since it is also free, if you are a graphic designer, there is no reason you shouldn’t at leastgive it a shot.
Story byAayush Arya
Aayush is the India Editor & Apps Co-Editor at The Next Web. When not writing, he enjoys spending his time bungling about on Twitter or(show all)Aayush is the India Editor & Apps Co-Editor at The Next Web. When not writing, he enjoys spending his time bungling about onTwitterorGoogle+, and answeringemail.
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