If you ever design and prepare graphics for the web, you know that getting the image sizes and colours to match up with the site can sometimes be an ugly process. We’ve found that using a couple super easy Firefox extensions has pretty much eliminated the hassle of combing through source code or working with screenshots to get the images right.

The first one is called MeasureIt. It’s a ruler device that tells you the height and width of any area you highlight. Just click on the icon in the corner of your browser, and you are given a translucent blue box that you can drag to fit any element you’re looking to measure.

MeasureIt was created by Kevin Freitas, and can be downloaded right here.

The second tool is called ColorZilla. This gives you an eyedropper tool that will tell you the colour values of any element in your browser – whether the colour you want is the background on a page, one part of a photo, or even the colour of an icon in your browser’s bookmarks toolbar.

ColorZilla then gives you the RGB and hex values of the colour, and lets you copy it to the clipboard for use in other applications.

This link will let you download ColorZilla, which was developed by Alex Sirota.

Those are a couple of the best Firefox plugins that we recommend for web designers: quick, easy ways to grab the info you need to let your graphics work better on the page.

And that’s all for our very first Daily Designer tip.

The most anticipated electronic gizmo of this decade was launched today, and having the gadget in hand hasn’t canned the chatter. There are 12.3 million blog posts on the iPhone at this point, with thousands of avid fans ranting and raving about pros and cons. Here is a round-up from the blogosphere on what you might be able to expect once the long arm of Apple reaches into Canada with an iPhone for you:

• There is breaking news from Gizmodo, who is reporting that AT&T is forcing people to buy accessories with their iPhones. Everyone is apparently up in arms about this outrage, as the Gizmodo post has been dugg 1999 times.

• The Cell Freak has a handy top ten list of the iPhone’s worst attributes.

• Paul Thurrott has generously provided pictures illustrating what it’s like to take an iPhone about of a box. How nice of him.

• Here is a Flickr gallery of miniscobleizer’s photos all taken on his new iPhone while he was out for a walk today.

• The New York Times has jumped on the hype wagon as well. Here is an informative article from David Pogue.

• Finally, here is a post from Metafluence, with apparently the most objective rundown on the iPhone to date.

Overall, the feedback seems positive with no major issues to complain about…yet.

We’ve posted before on how new technology and the internet is changing the way we work and live. In a connected society, there is no need to wait for dispatches from the blogosphere to see the effects of these advancements, because they are encountered on a daily basis while you Twitter your every thought, Facebook photos for your friends, and feed your Blackberry addiction.

This is not another post about how a website will change your life. It’s a post about how a website will change someone else’s life.

Introducing Kiva.org: Loans that change lives. This website, developed by Kiva Microfunds, a San Francisco based non-profit organization, follows the current trends of the user-driven internet experience by linking impoverished entrepreneurs with first-world wallets. Becoming a registered user on Kiva.org, enables you to loan small amounts of money to deserving individuals around the world, receive journal updates on your money at work, and see loan re-payment in 6 to 12 months.

Micro-financing or microcredit is a powerful concept that is gaining momentum, as many people see it as the answer to re-distributing the world’s abundant resources one small step at a time. Kiva.org is finally a web venture that promises more than entertainment, by using your spare change destined for the spin-cycle to break the poverty cycle instead.