Please note that these photographs are free, but not necessary public domain. Check each site for its terms of use if you wish to use photographs for public consumption especially commercial use. Photos used in this post are from Photos8 and Photovaco.

When looking for inspiration it can be automatic to look at web sites, posters, or whatever else you are planning to design yourself. However, sometimes it is best to step outside of the box and get some inspiration from the outside world.

Astronomy Picture of the Day
Wikimedia Commons
Astronomy Pictures (Matthew T Russell)
Hubble Heritage Gallery
Russell Croman Astrophotography
Dick Locke’s Astrophotography Gateway Page
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Hubble Site Gallery
Catching the Light: Astrophotography by Jerry Lodriguss
Galaxy Photography Images by Jason Ware
MGS MOC CAptioned Image Releases

On Flickr

Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Astronomy Group
Astrophotography Group
Astronomy for All
Astronomy, Stars, Planets, and Space
Astronomia
Space for All
Astronomy 123

Information about Astronomy Pictures

Astronomy-Pictures

iPhone Apps

Astronomy Picture of the Day
Distant Suns (Paid)
NASA App
Planets
Space Images (JPL)
Star Walk (Paid)

Astronomy Magazines

Astronomy Magazine
Sky & Telescope Magazine

Credit Information: The pictures in this page are from the Astronomy Picture of the Day.

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• This layout may be used for personal noncommercial use in accordance with the terms listed below.
• Please provide a link back to LiterarySpring.com. Do not claim credit for the layout.
• Do not distribute this layout without my express written consent.
• Do not hotlink.
• The layout may not be used for a pornographic website, a website that defames or libels an individual or group, or a “hate” website that promotes hatred based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, or physical or mental handicaps.

Credits

The pattern in the bottom right box and the wallpaper on the phone are mine. The iPhone graphic is available via Smashing Magazine. The fonts used are MEgaloplis Extra (available from Smeltery ), Coolvetica (available from DaFont), Silkscreen (available from DaFont), and Capitalis TypOasis (available from DaFont).

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About the Layout

Terms of Use

• This layout may be used for personal noncommercial use in accordance with the terms listed below.
• Please provide a link back to LiterarySpring.com. Do not claim credit for the layout.
• Do not distribute this layout without my express written consent.
• Do not hotlink.
• The layout may not be used for a pornographic website, a website that defames or libels an individual or group, or a “hate” website that promotes hatred based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, or physical or mental handicaps.

Credits

The bookmark picture and graphics except for the social media icons are ones I created. The social media icons are from http://www.elegantthemes.com. The fonts are all listed as allowing embedding. The font used in the heading is MEgalopolis Extra which can be downloaded from Smeltery.

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About the Layout

Terms of Use

• This layout may be used for personal noncommercial use in accordance with the terms listed below.
• Please provide a link back to LiterarySpring.com. Do not claim credit for the layout.
• Do not distribute this layout without my express written consent.
• Do not hotlink.
• The layout may not be used for a pornographic website, a website that defames or libels an individual or group, or a “hate” website that promotes hatred based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, or physical or mental handicaps.

Image and Font Credits

The handwritten letter is one of Thomas Jefferson’s and is in the public domain as the copyright has expired. The fonts used are Cloister Black, Journal, Kingthings Serifique, Kingthings Calligraphy, and Optimus Princeps.

Yesterday while looking at sports news I came across a picture with a caption that did not include the name of the players pictured, but did include the phrase “Dummy Text” repeated several times. This is hardly the first time I have seen dummy text end up in the final publication.

Filling in text is a fact of life for designers. Simply knowing that the text is supposed to go in a certain section is not enough. You need to be able to see the text. In many cases this also functions as a means to check your CSS.

Lorem Ipsum is a popular option, but it has its flaws. Very few websites are written in Latin and few people are fluent enough in Latin to be able to read and comprehend it. It is harder to get a good sense of the flow of the text and experience reading it if you cannot read the language it is written in.

Another option is to fill in a rough draft of the text that will appear. This has the advantage of giving you the best preview of the design. Unfortunately, you do not always have the information to do write a good rough draft and unless your rough draft is similar to the final text, the advantage is limited. Furthermore this can be a time-consuming option and if you charge by your time a client may not feel that their money will well spent by having you spend 40 minutes writing a rough draft that will be completely changed.

Some designers make up their own text, but there are also horror stories of designers and journalists who accidentally left in their text with embarrassing results. The phrase Dummy Text repeated five times may not impress a client, but it is better than a client seeing text reviewing your neighbor’s hair or suggesting exactly what you want to do with Internet Explorer 6. While you know you would always make sure all of the dummy text has been removed, it is still a good idea to use some common sense with your dummy text.

A compromise option is to use passages from public domain eBooks written in the same language as the website. Project Gutenberg and The Internet Archive have huge collections of public domain books. There are a variety of books from poetry collections to novels to scientific texts to travel diaries to children’s books. While the website you are designing may be about Stephen Hawking’s contributions to science text from a book about Albert Einstein’s contributions complete with diagrams and equations can give you a better sense of how the final text will look than Lorem Ipsum. While Ireland has changed in the past hundred years, if you are creating a website for your friend’s trip to Ireland text from a public domain book about Ireland is an easy way to get an approximation of how the final website will look.

Credit: The text from the picture above comes from Sherlock Holmes which is available from Project Gutenberg

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About the Layout

This layout is focused on structure and typography and is intended to be easily adjustable by adding images.

Note: Internet Explorer does not yet support css3. As a result Internet Explorer users will not see the text shadows, but otherwise the layout has been tested and works in Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 6.0 and above.

The font kits for NegociateFree and Kingthings Exeter can be downloaded from Fontsquirrel.com

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• These layouts may be used for personal noncommercial use in accordance with the terms listed below.
• Please provide a link back to my website. Do not claim credit for the layout.
• Do not distribute this layout without my express written consent.
• Do not hotlink to anything on my site.
• These layouts were designed for a website without ads. If you have ads on your website (as required by many free web hosts) you may have problems with the layout.
• The layout may not be used for a pornographic website, a website that defames or libels an individual or group, or a “hate” website that promotes hatred based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, or physical or mental handicaps.

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Clean and Clear Layout- right click save

About the Layout

This layout is focused on structure and typography and is intended to be easily adjustable by adding images.

Note: Internet Explorer does not yet support css3. As a result Internet Explorer users will not see the text shadows, but otherwise the layout has been tested and works in Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 6.0 and above.

Terms of Use

• These layouts may be used for personal noncommercial use in accordance with the terms listed below.
• Please provide a link back to my website. Do not claim credit for the layout.
• Do not distribute this layout without my express written consent.
• Do not hotlink to anything on my site.
• These layouts were designed for a website without ads. If you have ads on your website (as required by many free web hosts) you may have problems with the layout.
• The layout may not be used for a pornographic website, a website that defames or libels an individual or group, or a “hate” website that promotes hatred based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, or physical or mental handicaps.

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Download Fruit Layout- right click save

About the Layout

The header image is a jpg file and can be easily removed and replaced with the header of your choice.

Note: Internet Explorer does not yet support css3. As a result Internet Explorer users will not see the text shadows, but otherwise the layout has been tested and works in Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 6.0 and above.

Terms of Use

• These layouts may be used for personal noncommercial use in accordance with the terms listed below.
• Please provide a link back to my website. Do not claim credit for the layout.
• Do not distribute this layout without my express written consent.
• Do not hotlink to anything on my site.
• These layouts were designed for a website without ads. If you have ads on your website (as required by many free web hosts) you may have problems with the layout.
• The layout may not be used for a pornographic website, a website that defames or libels an individual or group, or a “hate” website that promotes hatred based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, or physical or mental handicaps.

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About the Layout

Note: Internet Explorer users will not see the text shadows, box shadows, but minus these small differences the layout has been tested and works in Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 6.0 and above.

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