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May
1
Read it backwards to make it better
Filed Under web design, writing | View Comments
When I was in school, my English teachers always encouraged us to read our papers backwards in order to help catch spelling and grammar mistakes. When I was a proofreader, and later an editor, the leads always wanted me to read documents backwards as the last step before I gave it back to them.
When I briefly dabbled in web design, I quickly discovered that reading backwards also helps catch tags that aren’t closed.
A couple of weekends ago, I got it into my head to watch Serenity and then Firefly right behind, except I watched the episodes in reverse order. Watching the entire series backwards helped me see things I hadn’t noticed before.
It made me think. I’ve been wrestling with flow issues in my fiction, and I wondered if reading backwards might solve at least part of the problem. So, I sat down with the storyboard for my current project, and I read the scenes in reverse order. Sure enough, I found a few spots where I hadn’t fully thought out the plot or a character, and I was able to address those problems right there. Doing that work means that I should end up happier with this manuscript when it’s finished, and it means fewer scenes that I’ll have to add in during the editing stage.
Reading your work backwards, be it a story, a process document, or code, causes you to look at your work in a different way, and it helps you see errors that you might have missed because your mind tells you that what you meant to write is already there. You’ll find misspelled words, missed punctuation, and dropped words. It’s an additional step that can help make your work look that much more polished.
Nov
6
It feels like it wasn’t all that long ago when everyone was screaming that if a user couldn’t find what they wanted in three clicks, then they’d leave your site, never to return. It led to some, if you’ll forgive the expression, pretty shallow sites.
It’s possible that a couple of years ago, people had a hard time staying focused for longer than that. These days, everyone is stuck in “information overload” mode, and people are more willing to actively search for what they need.
It’s now slowly being suggested that instead of confining the user to a limited number of clicks, creating an information pathway that makes sense, an “information scent”, for the user will prove more helpful.
Information architects have been singing the praises of information scent for some time now, but it’s interesting to see other disciplines slowly looking to it as a viable design structure.
Mar
13
The truth about design
Filed Under graphic design, web design | View Comments
As I’m reading through my aggregator and reading list every week, I find topics that make me think, “Wow! This needs to be shared.” I generally resist the impulse for a few days, waiting to see what the fallout is.
You see, good blog posts seem to inspire some sort of fallout, whether it’s positive or negative.
That happened with this posting of five design principles. I thought all five of them were fairly obvious. Technology servers humans. Experience is designed with the user in mind Design should never be obvious or overly complex.
Seems pretty straight forward, really. The standard things you cover the minute you set foot in any basic design class.
Sure enough, though, designers of various breeds were weighing in on it. Working Solo actually pointed me to the post to begin with with Leah’s post on how design is contextual. It’s true. Try taking an experience out of the context it was intended for, and you can almost guarantee yourself a baffled audience.
However, that same point was being contested by Mark Boulton, a designer who has pretty much seen it all (and tends to have an interesting take on it). In some ways, Boulton’s rant reminds me of the portfolio on display at the Art Institute downtown. The Industrial Design students have pictures of some of their work, along with an explanation of what the item is and where the student envisioned it being used. If not for the description, I’d have never guessed what half of the items were, but there was a definite creativity and usability to the items I could identify. It’s a blending work.
So…design is usable, but can be artistic. Design is contextual, but doesn’t have to be dry in its context. (I’m pretty sure that’s oversimplifying a complex question.)
Dec
19
Portal development
Filed Under web design | View Comments
My actual design goal for this entire website is to make the main page a portal that will entice or guide people to explore the niche of their choice. Not many people are aware of this because I haven’t made many strides in that direction. I’ve considered everything from a blog that pulls from all of the sites into the main site, to a magazine style front. There is so much content lying in wait in this site that I want visitors to be able to quickly make use of what’s here to find what they need.
I’ve had the portal idea stuck firmly in my head for almost as long as this site has existed.
That said, I was intrigued by this article that put forth portals as not Web 2.0 friendly. The thought is that they can’t be remixed easily and that they merely stand as guardians of the information contained within. I’m not so sure I agree with that. I think a portal site is what you make of it. If you build within it the ability for someone to be able to search the compartmentalized areas to find a more holistic picture of what they’re searching for, I think a portal could actually help minimize a visitor’s search time and lead to a more clear mash-up of your own material.
It’s definitely worth keeping in mind as I look toward designing the site’s next phase.
Nov
28
Lines convey interpretation
Filed Under content development, graphic design, web design | View Comments
I’m reading an e-book this week that’s got me thinking, not as much about the content as the organization of the content. This was one of the aims of the book, so it’s successful in that!
It’s filled with flowcharts to help give the concepts in the book a visual element. The book is seeking to show how much the topic defies organization by trying to impose organization. When the book is merely illustrating the book’s own structure, the lines in the flowchart are straight. When it is trying to demonstrate the nebulous nature of the the topic, the lines are curved.
Now, many studies have been done on straight lines vs. curved, or organic, lines, but this e-book really uses the lines well to help convey the intended meaning of the flowchart.
It’s almost inspirational from a design standpoint.
Nov
7
Animating web design
Filed Under animation, web design | View Comments
There is a trend using the basic tools of web design to create animated effects. I’ve seen the maze game created entirely in CSS, which spoke gleefully to my inner gamer, but this idea of simple animation really called out to my inner animation junkie.
Check it out!
Somehow, I need to find time to play around with these, because this is just awesome!
Oct
12
Designing for kittens and babies
Filed Under web design | View Comments
I know this sounds weird, but I was playing with my roommate’s kittens the other night, and had this sudden flash of inspiration.
Actually, I think it was more a case of a lot of reading and lecturing suddenly sinking into my head.
The brilliant thought crossed my mind: Web sites should be designed like one would ideally design to promote visual acuity development in babies- a strong sense of contrast and subtle movement.
It’s amazing what you learn from leading a kitten through a shadow hunt, eh?
The contrast part is simple enough, but the movement isn’t going to be actual movement. It’s going to be a directed motion or flow throw the web page elements.
I realize this is pretty much the basics of designing a good web site, but it just felt like a huge a-ha moment for me.
Aug
15
Learn to hack web design
Filed Under web design | View Comments
This week, I’m attempting to mess with the design on some of my web spaces, give them a more personal touch. I figured it was a good way to jump back into web design, a warm-up of sorts.
I remember when I first started playing around with the look of my LiveJournal a few years ago. It was challenging becasue it was something new, and my fellow support volunteers were constantly having to explain things to me or fix the majoir errors I was good at causing. (I was a big fan of not closing tags back then. Now, I’m a big fan of closing the wrong tab!) At the same time, it was a lot of fun. I was in control, seeing what I could do with what little knowledge I had. In many ways, it felt like being back in computer science again (I never moved past basic classes.)
Now I’m looking at my current web spaces, thinking about how much has changed since those early days. More web spaces are using CSS. I actually know more about HTML and CSS. In many respects, I feel a lot like I’m at square one again, just armed with more knowledge.
It will be interesting to see how everything works out, and how quickly I’ll move from tweaking those spaces to working on the site design at both of my websites.
Inspired by this article
Aug
1
Do you have your White?
Filed Under graphic design, web design | View Comments
My fourth-edition Strunk and White lives on a book shelf under my desk for quick reference. Mom always told me I’d need one.
She failed to tell me that I’d be pining for a hardcopy of The Elements of Design to sit right beside it.
Basically, someone took White’s principles, and interpreted them from a design perspective. The result is this useful quide that I’m sure will be as used as my Strunk and White has been!
Jul
11
A couple of articles crossed my Blogines account last week that profess to help sharpen your site design into something wonderful. I’m still too focused on the site content to be giving the design a second thought right now (a bad move, I know), but I found these both very interesting and wondered if I’d be reading newer articles this week that make these two obsolete.
I think one of the biggest problems in web design trends is that the trends seem to spend a lot of time flip-flopping. What was out of fashion last week will be the Big Thing ™ this week, while last week’s hot trend will be something to be avoided at all costs this week.
And you just thought it was computer hardware that became outdated as soon as it came into being.
Anyway, let’s start with the sixteen must-haves for web design. Right out of the gate, there’s a recommendation for making your pages appetizing to the search engines. That’s great, but aren’t we still in the “write for humans, not search engines” trend, or did that just go the way of the dodo? Then there’s the table issue. Will there ever be a resolution to that one? I did particularly enjoy the bit about stuffing keywords into your pages, too. Last I heard, that’s still a one-way ticket to being ignored by the search engines. How about making your contact information available to any Tom, Dick, or Harry that wanders by? No, thank you.
In all fairness, some of the list is relevant. Site maps, redirection, external files…always good ideas just to keep things running smoothly.
Then, there’s the current web cliches, complete with “bad boys”! While I understand some of the concern (ubiquitous gradients get tiring very quickly), I think some of this brings to light how some of these “cliches” became cliche. In an electronic medium, it’s difficult to create both the contrast and the texture that will keep a visitor visually engaged long enough to interact with your site without being put off by the teenager MySpace blinkies.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’d prefer to do my design on a case-by-case basis, using what works and what will convey the atmosphere I want my sites to convey. I’ll consider accessibility issues, sure, but I’m thinking to avoid the “trends”.
