Page 18 of 33 (323 total articles)
  • April 9, 2008 in Design Tips & Tutorials

    In the Background: Simplifying and Demystifying CSS Backgrounds

    If you've been designing websites for awhile then you probably remember this: . I wrote a lot of websites like that before CSS arrived, but when I tried to remember how backgrounds worked back then, I honestly had to look it up--it looks completely alien now. There's little chance that you're still using HTML like that (although there are still some old school tutorials floating around out there); but a lot of web designers have never taken the time to really explore and understand the background property in CSS. In this article, I'm going to give a quick rundown of how to use the background property effectively and eliminate all the background-position, background-color, and other redundant properties.

  • April 7, 2008 in Business & Process

    Keeping Your Web Project from Becoming a Frankenstein Monster

    A couple weeks ago, I posted an article entitled The Efficient Web Designer. In that article I suggested that limiting client options is key to managing projects efficiently. I was surprised when I received some flak for that particular point; so I've decided to expand it into an article. It's true that limiting client options makes projects run more smoothly but it also prevents another common web design demon--the Frankenstein monster. In this article I'm going to explain the principle of holistic design and how to help your clients uphold that principle.

  • April 4, 2008 in Friday Blog Clips

    5 for Friday | The Week's Best Blogs (4/04/08 Edition)

    There were some great web design articles added to the blogosphere this week. And, of course, being the week of April Fool's Day, there were some hilarious prank posts as well. I couldn't resist listing at least one. The other four, though, I'm sure you will find helpful.

  • April 2, 2008 in Web Design Worldview

    Branding Reconsidered: Corporate Identity in the Christian Worldview Grid

    Applying a Christian worldview to corporate branding and marketing can be tricky. Apart from a set of ethics--don't steal, don't lie--Christianity doesn't seem to have a lot to do with selling things in the secular world. In reality, it has a great deal to do with it. But it takes a fundamental thought shift for the modern designer to realize it. In order to encourage this thought shift, first I'm going to take a look at the differences between the common and Christian views of branding. Then I'll discuss the implications of the opposing views so that you will be better equipped to effectively apply a Christian worldview in branding and marketing design.

  • March 31, 2008 in Design Tips & Tutorials

    3 Layouts that Handle Screen Resolution with Dignity

    There's nothing more discouraging than watching your beautifully designed website load on a screen with a resolution it wasn't built for. And it usually happens when you're unveiling your work to a client. Other than browser variations, screen resolution is the biggest unknown we face. It's also a dilemma unique to interactive design which makes it difficult for people outside the industry to understand. In fact, even designers working in other areas of design have a difficult time relating. So let's take a look beyond the simple fixed-width / variable-width decision and zoom in on three creative solutions that can make the process a little less painful.

  • March 28, 2008 in Friday Blog Clips

    5 for Friday | The Week's Best Blogs (3/28/08 Edition)

    I stumbled upon some really good lists this week. Vandelay's 101 Typography Resources for Web Designers is one that's especially impressive. I haven't featured Devlounge here in awhile but their guide to mashing up content with Yahoo Pipes is exceptional. I had to include it. Enough introduction, though. Here is the 5 for Friday.

  • March 26, 2008 in Business & Process

    The Lone Web Designer: Strategies for Competing Against the Big Agency

    I don't think much introduction is necessary with this topic. We've all been beaten out of a project by a big ad agency at some point. It's a frustrating and demoralizing; especially when you know you could do a better job. As an independent web designer, I've battled this issue for quite a few years now, and I've decided it's time to publish a list of core strategies based on my experience.

  • March 24, 2008 in Business & Process

    The Efficient Web Designer: Simple Adjustments That Will Dramatically Increase Your Productivity

    Web designers can be pretty snooty about efficiency. We all have our little sets of widgets and tools; and we love to look down our noses at the riffraff that hasn't discovered whatever little app we happen to be high on. But through the haze of shortcuts and hacks, I've found that many web designers are actually extremely inefficient. Our tools can help us, but every once in awhile we need someone to pull our noses off the ground so we can see the big picture. With that in mind, I've put together a list of simple adjustments that will dramatically reduce your stress and increase your productivity.

  • March 21, 2008 in Friday Blog Clips

    5 for Friday | The Week's Best Blogs (3/21/08 Edition)

    It's hard to believe that Friday is already here again. I guess it just went fast because I've been trying to catch up after losing a week to SXSWi. There were some very original articles posted this week by some of my favorite bloggers. I especially liked Tutorial Blog's guide to color schemes. Who would have thought to look at North Portland homes for design inspiration?

  • March 19, 2008 in Design Tips & Tutorials

    The Amazing LI: Using CSS and Unordered List Items to Do Just About Anything

    I can still remember the day I discovered the li tag. It's not that I had never used list items before--I had built plenty of bulleted lists. What I discovered that day was that with a little CSS, the li becomes one of the most powerful and versatile tags in a web designer's arsenal. So versatile is the list item, in fact, that you could build and entire website layout out of just ul / li tag pairs (if you wanted to). This article is a tutorial and a tribute to the amazing li.

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