Source: ultimatedesignertoolkit.comIn this tutorial will show you how to create a sleek Administration Panel Layout. You can use this Admin panel if you want to create your own CMS.To start, you will need to create a new document, or you can use the PSD file included in the Ultimate CSS FrameworkI will use Paint Bucket Tool to add a color over my white background. The color i have used is : efebe8
I will use Rectangle Tool to create the header of this Admin panel.
Bellow you can see the layer styles i have used for the header.
I will create a shape also on the footer, and as you can see from the next image, i have used the same layer style.
Under the header shape i will create another one.
Here are the layer styles used for the second shape.
Under the second shape i will create another shape, with the same layer styles, but in this case i have used a darker color.
With Rectangle Tool i will create some shapes. These will be soon our buttons. As you can see i have used the same layer styles, but with different color for the first button.
I will create another shapes on the body of our layout.
Then i will create the header of the boxes. Of course i have used the Rectangle Tool, but this time i have used the dark layer styles.
Next step is to add some dark icons. You can use any icon you like.
On the top right box i will create another shape. Here we will create a chart later in this tutorial where you can track the sales, traffic, or any other thing you like.
With Line Tool i will create some vertical lines. Please note that the lines need to be 1 pixel width.
With the same tool i will add some horizontal lines.
I will fill all my admin template with another horizontal lines like in the following image.
I will add a small arrow on the header of each box, and then i will start to fill also each box with images, icons, and text.
As you can see i will use only Horizontal type tool to add some text. You can use different size for the fonts, and you can use also different colors.
I will return now to finish my chart. With Ellipse Tool i will create some small circles.
I will use the following layer style for the red dots. You can change the layer style for the green dots alone.
Then i will select Line Tool, and i will set the width to 3 pixels. I will create different lines with different colors.
On the top of the layout i will add another icons and text.
Then i will type some vertical text, with Vertical Type Tool.
I will fill all the boxes from the left side with text, and images. Here is my result so far.
On the top right side of the layout i will add another icon with a envelope, and over it i will add a badge similar with the badge you have on your Mac OS X Leopard. It seems on Mac OS X lion the badges are a little smaller.
Below the final image for my administration layout.
